Chinese Dynasties (one last time)

ca.  2100  –  1600  BC  Xia  Dynasty:  (ink  made;  bronze  cas>ng)  ca.  1600  –  1050  BC  Shang  Dynasty  Ca.  1046  –  256  BCE  Zhou  Dynasty  (Scythian  influence!)  Ca.  221  –  206  BCE  Qin  Dynasty  (TerracoLa  Army;  Great  Wall)  206  BCE  –  220  AD  Han  Dynasty  (jewelry,  figure  pain>ng,  celadon)  220  –  589  AD      Six  Dynas>es  Period  (landscape  pain>ng)  581  –  618  AD    Sui  Dynasty  618  –  906  AD    Tang  Dynasty  (porcelain,  pain>ng,  woodcut)  907  –  960  AD    Five  Dynas>es  Period  960  –  1279  AD      Song  Dynasty  (porcelain,  movable  type  1041)  1279  –  1368  AD    Yuan  Dynasty  1368  –  1644  AD    Ming  Dynasty  (blue-­‐white  porcelain,  enamel)  1644  –  1912  AD    Qing  Dynasty  1912  –  1949  AD    Republic  Period  1949  –  present    People’s  Republic  of  China  (Ai  Wei  Wei)      

Chinese Ceramics

•  Ceramics  is  the  only  art  form  to  span  the  en>rety  of  Chinese  history.  

•  While  poLery  developed  in  many  cultures  worldwide,  no  other  civiliza>on  took  fuller  advantage  of  the  aesthe>c  poten>al  of  ceramics  as  China.    

•  PoLer’s  wheel  may  have  developed  independently  in  both  Mesopotamia  and  China  ca.  3000  BC  

•  Porcelain  invented  in  China  during  Tang  Dynasty  (AD  618  –  906)  

•  Chinese  ceramics  and  technical  innova>ons  have  been    influen>al  throughout  the  world.    

•  Pan-­‐Asian  favorite  glaze,  celadon,  invented  in  China.  

Neolithic earthenware

•  Neolithic  ceramic  basin  (ca.  3000  BCE)  and  burial  storage  jar  (ca.  2300  BCE)  

Chinese Ceramics  •  “…in  China,  the  making  of  poLery  started  20,000  years  ago  and  never  stopped,”  according  to  Ofer  Bar-­‐Yosef,  Harvard  archaeologist  who  studied  fragments  found  in  southern  China  in  2012,  making  China  the  probable  home  of  the  inven>on  of  ceramics.  

Paleolithic Earthenware Pottery

•  Yuchanyan  Caves  •  Ca.  18,000  –  16,000  BCE  

Bronze Age – Shang and Zhou dynasties

•  Stoneware  w/incised  designs  (some  replicate  bronze  items)  

•  Early  celadon          glaze  •  Hand-­‐coiled,          finished  on  slow          wheel  Ca.  300  BCE  

•  Allowed  for  higher  firing:  stoneware  

Han Dynasty

•  Horse  and  Rider,  ca.  180  BCE,  30”  tall  

•  Development  of  organized  ceramic  produc>on  

•  Use  of  ceramics  for  decora>ve  as  well  as  func>onal  purposes  

•  Grave  goods  •  Earthenware,  painted  

Han Dynasty

Drummer, ca. 150 BCE

•  What  could  his  func>on  be?  

Tang Dynasty

•  During  this  >me,  porcelain  was  invented.  •  Grave  goods  hit  peak  produc>on,  but  were  mass-­‐produced  in  lowly  earthenware,  so  were  not  highly  regarded  during  their  >me  (now  they  are  the  epitome  of  Tang  ceramics!)  

•  Cobalt  blue  glaze  developed  •  Perfected  celadon  glazes  •  Produced  work  for  export  

Tang Mingqi (grave goods), 8th century

Sancai “3-color”

tripod incense burner

•  3  northern  kilns  produced  sancai  wares  for  burial  trade;  lead-­‐based  glazes  mixed  with  copper  (green)  and  iron  (amber/brown).  Glaze  tended  to  run  so  this  quality  was  exploited  in  exuberant  form.  

Sancai (or San-t’sai) earthenware Tang horse, 8th century

Tang stoneware

Beginnings of porcelain, ca.

800 AD •  Refined  form,  simple  white  

color,  finely  made  •  Set  the  standard  for  

ceramics  •  Exported  to  Middle  East,  

where  Tang  poLery  revolu>onized  the  ceramic  industry.  

This is why we say “fine china”!

Sung Dynasty (960 -1279 AD)

•  Subtle  by  comparison  to  prior  and  later  ceramics,  Sung  Dynasty  ceramics  represent    the  pinnacle  of  quality.  

•   Minimalist  sophis>ca>on  and  excellence  in  every  formal  aspect:  shape,  decora>on,  color,  glaze,  and  technique.    

•  So  highly  valued  that  they  were  used  to  pay  taxes  to  the  emperor!  

•  5  kilns  permiLed  to  produce  this  ware.  

•  Simple  Sung  teabowls  like  this  Jian  ware  influenced  Japanese  aesthe>c  and  tea  house  culture.  

•  Celadon  glazes  were  perfected  during  this  >me.  

Yuan dynasty (1279 -1368 AD)

•  For  the  first  >me,  China  was  under  foreign  control  –  the  Mongols.    

•  Celadon  ware  and  porcelain  painted  in  blue  underglaze  spread  throughout  Asia,  deeply  influencing  other  cultures.  

•  More  emphasis  on  figura>ve  work.  

•  Porcelain  plate,  ca.  1350  

•  Celadon  BodhisaLva,  ca.  1300  AD  

Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644)

•  Reestablishment  of  Chinese  rule  led  to  ar>s>c  styles  dictated  by  royal  court.  

•  Bureau  of  Design  ensured  uniform  standards  of  decora>on  for  produc>on  in  ceramics  and  other  decora>ve  arts.  

•  Under  the  vast  Mongol  empire  of  the  Yuan  dynasty,  Chinese  ceramics  influenced  all  of  Asia;  in  turn,  China  was  influenced  by  Islamic  world.  

•  Ming  ceramics  are  the  most  famous  and  influen>al  of  Chinese  ceramics  –  heavily  exported  to  West  where  they  influenced  the  ceramic  produc>on  of  en>re  na>ons.  

Jar, Ming dynasty, ca. 1430 AD

•  Expert  brushwork  of  underglaze  on  pure  white  porcelain.  

•  One  of  the  most  typical  forms  

More  examples  of  Ming  poLery  

Jar, late Ming dynasty, ca. 1522

•  Blue  underglaze  remains  

•  Overglaze  of  various  colors  make  these  polychrome  

•  Technique  called  Wucai  (“five-­‐color”)  decora>on  

Influence on ceramics in other countries

Iraq  9th  century  

Tang  dynasty  

Ming and Ching

export ware

•  Leq,  Ming,  1400s  

Iznik,  Turkey,  1550  -­‐  70  

   

Leq,  ar>st  Ai  Wei  Wei  drops  Han  vase  (1995);  Right,  Zhou  vase  sold  at  auc>on  for  $735,650  (2012)    

Ai Weiwei exhibit in Miami, 2014

•  hLps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T7WOECCCRY  

Cai Guo-Qiang – contemporary artist

•  hLps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcXrpCIl2  

•  hLps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPV8zdiySlI