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by Patrick Chinese porcelain is synonymous with two cities in China, Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province, and Dehua in Fujian Province. Both regions came to be centres for porcelain production at different times, serving different markets. Both cities remain the most important centres for porcelain in China. Although exceptions exist, there are three main differences between the industries in each city.
by Patrick What does “handmade” mean in the world of Yixing? Anyone browsing Yixing Teapot listings will probably read assurances that the teapot in question was “handmade.” Assuming the teapot is in fact handmade, this still doesn’t precisely answer how the teapot was made. All authentic Yixing Teapots made from zisha (Yixing clay) without any other additives will be handmade; But there are two kinds of "handmade" in the Yixing Teapot World, “half handmade” and “full" or "fully handmade.”  Half Handmade Yixing Teapots by Patrick
In our last entry on Chinese Porcelain we listed the three ways of painting on porcelain, namely: youxiacai, painting below the glaze; youzhongcai, painting in between glazes; and youshangcai, painting above the glaze. While all ways of painting Chinese porcelain fall under one or more of these three, there are many more styles of painting, of which we only touched on in our last entry. Qinghua 青花, cobalt blue patterns/paintings applied as youxiacai to white porcelain, is one famous style mentioned in our last entry. This week we introduce three more famous styles of painted porcelain. by Patrick
Our Blog Series on Chinese Porcelain will continue next week. This week we are re-posting an early entry from our now-defunct Wordpress blog. Guangzhou (also known as Canton) is the least celebrated of China’s big three cities, and is often overlooked by visitors in favour of the more famous cities: Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. This isn’t surprising given that Guangzhou prefers to hide its treasures in the back streets and alleys, in the old neighbourhoods tucked in from the broad new boulevards typical of China’s megacities. by Siyan and Patrick
This week we look at the different styles and techniques of Chinese porcelain, beginning with the choice of layering for the paint and the glaze. Porcelain artists have a very basic choice to make before they begin to paint their pieces. The choice is whether to use 1) Youxiacai 釉下彩, painting under the glaze; 2) youzhongcai 釉中彩, painting in between glazes; 3) youshangcai 釉上彩, painting on the surface of the glaze. While it may seem unimportant, this choice will dictate what colours can be used, the final appearance of the painting, and even the surface texture of the piece. Each method has its own history and uses. by Patrick  This blog entry marks the beginning of our series on Chinese Porcelain; its characteristics, types, glazes and patterns. Before we focus on each of these subtopics, we begin as broadly as possible with 4 basic things you need to know about Chinese porcelain.
by Patrick
Benshan lüni, benshan duanni, huangjin duan, other Yixing clays (zisha) that are light-colored or yellow-toned after firing fall under the umbrella category of “duanni” clay. Duanni is the third broad category of Yixing clays which include Zini (all purple Yixing clays) and hongni (red clay, which also includes zhuni). |
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