Ming Dynasty
China - Ming Dynasty
For the first time in many Dynasties, we find China at peace during the period of the Ming Dynasty. This was truly a wonderful time of culture and the arts. The citizens of the Ming Dynasty lived a rather extravagant quality?of?life. By the time the Ming Dynasty was in full swing, the world was trading with China through the Silk Road, the Yellow River, and many other arteries of transport as well. Collectors of Chinese art view the pure white porcelain called “blanc de chine” (which first appeared during the Ming Dynasty) as the most serenely beautiful of all Chinese ceramics. The painting on porcelain continued to flourish during this period.
Never before had the decorative brush painting directly on baked clay been better perfected. The classic Ming blue and white ware known the world over to this day was perfected during this Period as well. Art lovers still talk about the beautiful shades of blue which were achieved during the Ming Dynasty.
The classic floral and foliage figurines painted onto the Ming blue and white vases were painted over the glaze, using striking colors of enamel. This over glaze technique took two generations to perfect. The process is a very specific one and without the utmost attention to detail, the preparations for the right mixture of enamels would be incomplete.
During the Ming Dynasty, the purple clay pottery blossomed as well. Throughout the Ming Dynasty, both the dragon and phoenix theme were abundant. The dragon, representing man and strength; the phoenix, representing the woman and her being. These were the two most popular decorative motifs on ceramic wares of the time.
In addition to the ever present blue and white colors, we find red, yellow, light and dark green, brown, and under glaze blue. We also see the same three-colored (or Sancai style) pottery, which was so prevalent in the Tang Dynasty, during the Ming Dynasty as well.