Chinese Blue and White

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Chinese blue and white porcelain has an appealing charm that has long been recognized among art collectors and ceramics aficionados.  Many elements contribute to this, but the most prominent would be the cobalt blue color.  In China, the use of blue pigment on ceramics began as early as the late Tang dynasty.  Still, it was not until the late Yuan dynasty that blue and white Chinese porcelain gained popularity, and production started in sizable quantities.  Imported from Persia, the cobalt blue was prohibitively expensive. It was used sparingly on vessels created for Imperial use only at established venues.  One of them is Jingdezhen—a kiln site that soon became the mecca of Chinese blue and white porcelain production.

Cobalt blue differs in material composition, thus resulting in color variations after being fired.  The early cobalt blue extracted from Persian ore is rich in iron oxide, bestowing a hint of purple and the so-called “heaped-and-piled” effect with darker spots on the glazed surface.  Later, a softer and clearer blue was achieved from China’s manganese-rich cobalt blue, and another domestic azurite blue, called shiqing, was available in the late Ming period.  The somewhat dull shiqing blue was mostly used at local kilns and yielded various blues, it was mixed with other domestically available blue pigments, ranging from silvery to purplish blue hues.

Given the rulers’ patronage, Chinese blue and white porcelain strongly reflect the Imperial tastes of the times.  The bright blue on a warm white ground was prized throughout the Xuande, Chenghua, and Zhengde eras, and remained attractive well into the Kangxi era of the Qing dynasty and beyond.  The earlier deep purplish blue with darker dots was also revived during the 18th century, particularly by the emperors of Yongzheng and Qianlong.

Of all the ambitious emperors who strove to excel in the ceramic legacy of the Song and Ming dynasties, the Yongzheng emperor was the most influential.  Known for his dedication to excellence and an unyielding interest in innovative technology in ceramic production, he controlled the quality of Imperial ceramics himself, frequently visited the workshops at court, and gave his orders and demands to the supervisors as Tang Ying.  Yongzheng paved a way to the heyday of all types of Chinese ceramics, including blue and white porcelain wares.  In form, the emperor showed keen interest in ancient Chinese porcelain vessels and an insatiable appetite for their quiet elegance and subtlety in design. All his ceramics display his refined scholarly taste.