The Ge Kiln
Porcelain products from Ge Kiln are very precious due to the limited number of existing pieces. According to statistics, there are around over 100 porcelain pieces from Ge Kiln in the world, most of which are collected by the Palace Museum in Beijing and in Taipei.
Where Ge Kiln was located
During the Song Dynasty, the most well-known porcelain products were from five kilns. They were Ru Kiln, Guan Kiln, Ge Kiln, Jun Kiln and Ding Kiln -- known collectively as “the five most famous kilns in the Song Dynasty.”
Ge Kiln has always been valued by collectors, connoisseurs, archaeologists and other specialists and scholars. Research has been maintained stedily on Ge Kiln products without interruption.
Porcelain products from Ge Kiln have never been found in Song Dynasty tombs and no one has discovered any clue about where the ancient kiln was located. Most researchers believe Ge Kiln belonged to the official kilns during the Song Dynasty. Research on Ge Kiln has long been based on historical documents and existing pieces. The earliest written record of Ge Kiln dates back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), found in Xuande Ding Yi Pu (the book about Xuande incense burner).
In Tan Zhai Bi Heng (Tan Zhai’s notes), Ye Zhi (whose other name was Tan Zhai), a writer from the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), pointed out there were two official kilns during the Southern Song Dynasty: Jiao Tan Xia Guan Yao (the official kiln down the altar) and Xiu Nei Si Guan Yao (the official kiln of the repairing division). The former has been discovered in Wu Gui Mountain, Hangzhou, while the latter has not been found yet. In Ge Gu Yao Lun (the treatise on the identification of cultural relics, 1386, or the 20th year of Hongwu Period in Ming Dynasty), Cao Zhao recorded the characteristics of Xiu Nei Si Guan Yao, from which some scholars have concluded Ge Kiln refers to Xiu Nei Si Guan Yao from the Song Dynasty.
The Features of Porcelain Products from Ge Kiln
Porcelain products from Ge Kiln have bodies containing various colors including black, dark grey, light grey and yellowish brown. The typical products are as follows: plates, bowls, vases, Xi (washes) and censers. All of the products were shaped like imperial products and entirely different from those from private kilns.
A porcelain product from Ge Kiln usually has a body with high iron content and a thick glaze with stable colors. The glaze at the rim of its mouth flows downward during the process of production, forming a dark reddish-purple mouth.
Porcelain products from Ge kiln are characterized by irregular crackles on the glaze, which are commonly called “Kai Pian” or “Wen Wu Pian”. They are divided into Yu Zi Wen (crackles shaped like tiny fish), Xie Zhua Wen (arc crackles shaped like crab claws) and Bai Ji Sui (hundreds of crackles the same size).
The Beauty of Ge Kiln
Simple and quaint, all the existing products from Ge Kiln have perfect quality, peculiar crackles and a natural, interesting style.
What is the most striking value of Ge Kiln? It is converting the incomplete to the miraculous. Products from Ge Kiln were originally defective because of their fragmentary surface. However, through the craftsmen’s’ unique creation, the defect in craft has become a natural and interesting beauty. Therefore Ge Kiln stands for the typical beauty of defect. Like Venus of Melos, its beauty belongs in a new category.
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