Chinese porcelain and pottery

How do you read the marks on Chinese porcelain?

Most imperial marks have six characters in two columns of three, read from the top of the right-hand column down, then the left: the dynasty, 大明 (dà Míng) or 大清 (dà Qīng), the reign name, 年号 (niánhào), such as 康熙 (Kāngxī), and 年制 (nián zhì), made in the reign of. So 大清康熙年製 is “made in the Kangxi reign of the Great Qing”. A four-character mark leaves out the dynasty, from the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns many marks are in seal script, 篆书 (zhuànshū), and like all the old marks they are written in traditional characters: 製 for 制, and 萬曆 for 万历 (Wànlì). The mark on the base is a 款 (kuǎn). Be careful: potters copied earlier marks in every period, out of respect or to sell, so a mark is where to start, not proof of age.

What is Chinese porcelain called in Chinese?

瓷器 (cíqì), or just 瓷 (cí); pottery is 陶器 (táoqì), and the two together, ceramics, 陶瓷 (táocí). English calls porcelain “china” because it came from China. Porcelain is made with kaolin, 高岭土 (gāolǐngtǔ), named after Gaoling, a hill near Jingdezhen, and fired hotter than pottery, at about 1,300 °C, so it comes out white, hard and thin enough to let light through.

Why is Chinese porcelain blue and white?

Blue and white, 青花瓷 (qīnghuācí), is painted in cobalt, 钴 (gǔ), on the white body under a clear glaze, 釉 (yòu), and fired once, so the blue never wears off. It took off in the Yuan dynasty in the 1300s, with cobalt brought from Persia, at the kilns of 景德镇 (Jǐngdézhèn), and was shipped across Asia, the Middle East and later Europe, where it was copied as Delftware and willow pattern.

Where and when was porcelain invented?

In China. Early porcelain appears by the Eastern Han dynasty, about 1,800 years ago, and fine white porcelain by the Sui and Tang. The Song dynasty had five famous kilns, 汝窑 (Rǔ yáo), 官窑 (guān yáo), 哥窑 (Gē yáo), 钧窑 (Jūn yáo) and 定窑 (Dìng yáo), and celadon, 青瓷 (qīngcí), from 龙泉 (Lóngquán). From the Ming, the imperial kilns at 景德镇, the porcelain capital, made the pieces for the court.

What do the patterns on Chinese porcelain mean?

Most are wishes, as in paper cutting and New Year pictures. A five-clawed dragon, 龙 (lóng), was for the emperor and a phoenix, 凤 (fèng), for the empress; peonies, 牡丹 (mǔdan), mean wealth; a lotus, 莲 (lián), purity; fish, 鱼 (yú), a surplus, 余 (yú); bats, 蝠 (fú), good fortune, 福 (fú); and peaches, 桃 (táo), a long life.

Is there a Chinese way of fixing broken pottery with gold?

Mending with gold lacquer is the Japanese kintsugi, known in China as 金缮 (jīnshàn). The old Chinese way is 锔瓷 (jūcí): a mender drills tiny holes with a diamond drill, 金刚钻 (jīngāngzuàn), and clamps the pieces with metal staples. It gave a saying: 没有金刚钻，别揽瓷器活 (méiyǒu jīngāngzuàn, bié lǎn cíqì huó), without a diamond drill, don’t take on porcelain work: don’t take a job you lack the skill for.

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