Introduction

導言

For over a millennium, Chinese potters have produced highly sought-after objects decorated in blue and white. The blue pigment was historically produced from cobalt oxide and cobalt carbonate—the former distinguished by a coarser particle size and more intense colour—painted over an off-white-coloured ceramic clay, while the base colour of the objects was lightened by applying a wash of white slip. As technology has improved over time, ceramic materials have become progressively more refined and whiter in appearance.

Along with the increased scale of ceramics production, kiln sizes increased and potters began to make larger objects that were significant both for their size and inherent value as part of the Yuan dynasty tradition of decorating in this particular—now world-famous—colour scheme. Steeped in tradition, the technique continued to develop and modernise as the colours became clearer and the lines better defined.

華夏陶瓷工匠所製的青花瓷聞名中外，而製作工藝已有逾千年歷史。米白坯體上的藍色顏料，來自氧化或碳酸鈷料，前者以較粗糙的質感和濃稠的顏色為特徵。工匠亦曾於坯體上塗上白化妝土作為底色，但隨技術日漸純熟，瓷土本身也已變得更為純淨潔白而不需妝土。

隨著陶瓷業勃興，窯的規模也越趨龐大，而工匠亦能製作更大型的器物。而器物的價值不僅在於大小，其青花設計，更自元代起，流傳海外，至今仍極受青睞。經改良和創新技藝傳統，青花瓷的色彩漸見透徹，線條更顯俐落。

Charger

China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen

Yuan dynasty, 14th century

Porcelain with underglaze blue

D. 40 cm

On loan from the Jinglexuan Collection

大盤

中國，江西省，景德鎮

元朝，14世紀

青花瓷器

直徑40厘米

由靜樂軒藏借出

Large charges like this well-crafted and meticulously decorated piece relate to both ceramic and metalwork plates in the Middle East from which meals were shared. Some Chinese Yuan dynasty chargers were made for Middle Eastern patrons. This example, however, does not show any Arabic iconography and was most probably made for the domestic Chinese market. Decorated with three densely painted registers, the large inner area is painted with a lotus pond. The lotus is a symbolic plant used in cultures across Asia, as well as in various religions including Buddhism.

大盤紋飾以飽和、細膩居多，受啟發於中東瓷碟、金屬碟；其尺寸也因當地傳統家庭習慣用同一大盤分享食物而相對較大。元朝時期，不少大盤都作外銷用途，售至中東地區，但此大盤因缺乏常見的阿拉伯特色紋飾，故應為本地器物。紋飾由內至外被分成三個部分，每個部分均充滿密集的圖案：尤其中央的蓮花池。蓮花象徵意義甚廣，能見於不同亞洲文化和宗教，包括佛教。

Vase

China

Yuan dynasty, 14th century

Porcelain with underglaze blue

H. 25 cm

On loan from the Jinglexuan Collection

瓶

中國

元朝，14世紀

青花瓷器

高25厘米

由靜樂軒藏借出

Vases or bottles of this shape are called yuhuchun. This beautiful example is decorated with a three-clawed dragon. Whereas five-clawed dragons are associated with the imperial family, and select royalty close to the court, the three-clawed dragon was used by lower ranks and therefore became a more common motif used from the Yuan dynasty, and is more extensively recorded in Chinese art since the Ming dynasty.

此種瓶狀或壺狀的器型為玉壺春瓶，而此玉壺春瓶更是有三爪龍紋作紋飾。龍紋根據身分地位而有所不同，如五爪龍紋只供皇族或指定貴族人士使用；三爪龍紋則能被低級官員使用，因此較易見於元朝，也自明朝開始受廣泛記載。

Stem cup

China

Yuan dynasty, 14th century

Porcelain with underglaze blue and moulded decoration

H. 10 cm

On loan from the Jinglexuan Collection

高足杯

中國

元朝，14世紀

模印青花瓷器

高10厘米

由靜樂軒藏借出

This small but elaborately decorated stem cup is decorated with three-clawed dragons on the interior and exterior. Whereas the object’s exterior shows a lively depiction in blue-and-white paint applied after the ceramic was fired, the interior is embellished with an example in low relief moulded into the side of the cup while the clay was still amendable before firing. Commonly applied since the Yuan dynasty, seeing both techniques used on the same small objects makes this a well-designed and finely executed example.

此小而精緻的高足杯，內外均有三爪龍紋作紋飾：外側生動的龍紋是通過燒製成胎後塗上藍色而成，而內側隱約的龍紋則是通過燒製前模印的方法產生。設計精良、製作精細，這種同時使用繪畫和模印的手法於元朝是十分常見的。

Jar

China

Ming dynasty, 24th year of the Jiajing period (1545) / 19th century

Porcelain with underglaze blue

H. 31 cm, D. 30 cm

Gift of the University of Hong Kong Museum Society

HKU.C.1992.0967

Inscription:

Jar made for the Hall of Weishan Zuile(charity), of the Huang Clan, Dongli, Wushan, in Jingdezhen during the 24th year of Jiajing, Ming Dynasty

罐

中國

明朝嘉靖二十四年(1545) / 19世紀

青花瓷器

高31厘米, 直徑30厘米

香港大學博物館學會惠贈

HKU.C.1992.0967

銘：烏山東里黃氏為善最樂堂樽

大明嘉靖乙巳江西景德鎮造

Large jars of this shape called guan were used to store wine or decorate imperial palace grounds. This guan was inscribed with a dedication to ‘Wushan Dongli Huang Clan for the Goodest Hall’ and the precise ‘24th year of the Jiajing period (1545)’. However, an ongoing scholarly debate concerns the exact date of manufacture as this object may also be ascribed to a nineteenth-century historicising origin. During the Ming dynasty, jars of this shape and size were also exported to the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Similar jars are preserved in the Ardabil Shrine, Iran, and Wat Mahathat in Lamphun, Thailand.

大罐多用於儲存酒或裝飾宮殿、庭院。此罐刻有「烏山東里黃氏為善最樂堂」，和「大明嘉靖乙巳」（嘉靖24年，即1545年）這準確日期。然而，也有學者爭論此罐亦有可能是19世紀的模仿器物。明朝期間，這種形狀和大小的罐也被外銷至中東和東南亞地區，在伊朗的阿爾達比勒神廟和泰國的瑪哈泰寺得以保存。

Bowl

China

Ming dynasty, Wanli period (1573–1620)

Porcelain with underglaze blue

H. 5 cm, D. 9 cm

HKU.C.1966.0302

碗

中國

明朝，萬曆（1573–1620年）

青花瓷器

高5厘米，直徑9厘米

HKU.C.1966.0302

This bowl is decorated with a landscape scene. During the Ming and Qing dynasty, blue-and-white ceramic objects were often painted with Chinese landscapes showing mountains and rivers that depict and symbolise the natural beauty of China. These pictorial scenes became popular in the West where Chinese export ceramics introduced the porcelain material, the blue-and-white colour scheme and the virtuously painted Chinese landscapes for the first time during the Ming dynasty.

明朝起一直到清朝，山水風景都是青花瓷器上的常見紋飾，描繪和象徵了中國的自然美貌。自山水景觀首次被運用到作西方外銷用的瓷器始，這種紋飾也隨之而變得十分盛行。

Bowl

China, Fujian province, Zhangzhou

Ming dynasty, Wanli period (1573–1620)

Porcelain with underglaze blue

H. 5.3 cm, D. 9.1 cm

HKU.C.1966.0302

碗

中國，福建省，漳州

明朝，萬曆（1573–1620年）

青花瓷器

高5.3厘米，直徑9.1厘米

HKU.C.1966.0302

Characterised by thick porcelain filled with impurities, grit-covered bases and simple designs, scholars mistakenly called wares of this type ‘Swatow’, after an old Dutch transliteration of Shantou, a port in northern Guandong province. Excavations in the 1990s revealed that such ceramics were actually from Zhangzhou, a porcelain production centre and port in the south of Fujian province, or smaller nearby coastal kilns.

釉層厚而混濁、底部蓋滿雜質、設計簡樸純粹。此款器物多被學者誤認為屬於北部廣東一個港口的「汕頭瓷器」，但經過1990年代的發掘後，得以認證為製於漳州——是一重要窯址和位福建南部的港口。

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