Hong Kong Palace Museum | Brilliance: Ming Dynasty Ceramic Treasures from the Palace Museum, 1368-1644

3001. Dish with dragons among waves

The dragon has always been a symbol of the emperor in China.

The object in front of you is a dish with dragons among waves, produced by the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen during the Zhengtong period. There is a total of ten dragons on this dish. Can you find all of them?

On the central medallion is a strong and stout dragon with five claws. The blue dragon is leaping over a sea with white foams on the tips of roaring waves. The other nine dragons can be seen on the exterior of the dish, who are swirling in different postures among the red waves.

This kind of porcelain was decorated with a combination of underglaze cobalt blue and overglaze iron-red enamel. The blue colour on this dish is vivid, and the red colour is radiant. The colours of the pigments stood out as a result of meticulous control of temperature during the firing process.

© The Palace Museum

3002. Pear-shaped vase with lotus scrolls

This vase’s decoration features lotuses. The neck was painted with patterns of banana leaves, key frets, and plant scrolls, while near the bottom are lotus petal patterns. The patterns are distinctly layered. The body is covered with a pattern of intertwining lotus flowers and branches, which is called “lotus scrolls”.

Craftsmen of the Hongwu period of the Ming dynasty retained the underglaze copper-red technique of the Yuan dynasty. They used copper oxide as a colorant to paint on the surface of porcelain, coated it with a layer of transparent glaze, and then fired it at high temperature in a kiln. Due to the difficulty of firing red underglaze, the colour of the products was not always consistent. Many of them resulted in a grey-black tone. Take this vase as an example: the underglaze red colour has a subdued hue. Yet it is still a fine piece of underglaze red porcelain.

© The Palace Museum

3003. Vase with lotus scrolls

Do you know that the colour of this vase in front of you has a special name? Literati in the late Ming dynasty called this type of white glaze “sweet white”, as its pure, smooth and shiny appearance evoke a sense of sweetness. “Sweet white” is a type of white glaze created by the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen of the Yongle period in the early Ming dynasty. Craftsmen took high-quality local clay and washed them meticulously to improve its whiteness and translucency after firing. The delicate and shiny “sweet white” porcelains were greatly adored by the Yongle Emperor.

This vase was finely decorated with three sets of lotus scroll patterns using thin lines. Some of the lotus flowers on the body are blooming, while the others are in bud. Engraved near the bottom were some broken flower branches. In addition to decorated vases like this one, there were also plain ones that were used as displays in the imperial palace.

In addition to vases, “sweet white” porcelain was also commonly used for bowls, dishes, small pots, and stem cups. “Sweet white” wares held great importance during the Yongle period. Not only were they for imperial use, but they are also used in offering rituals, bestowals, and diplomacies.

© The Palace Museum

3004. Globular vase with dragons among clouds

The globular vase in porcelain was an innovation of the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen during the early Ming dynasty, with a large, spherical body. The body of this vase before you was painted with dragons among clouds. Take a closer look and you will see that the dragon is strong and stout. It turns its gaze back while drifting among clouds. The majestic appearance communicates the identity and status of the vase’s user.

Smalt, the cobalt pigments used on this vase, were imported from Persia. The high iron content in the pigments brought about the saturated, vibrant blue colour. Dark blue flecks seen on the vase were formed during firing due to crystallisation.

From the vase’s pigments used, it can be seen that there were close exchanges between the Ming dynasty and Western Asia.

© The Palace Museum

3005. Cup with garden scenes in autumn

Doucai is a technique that has already reached maturity during the Chenghua period. This cup with garden scenes in autumn in front of you is one of the finest pieces of doucai. It has a thin and light body, and the colour is vibrant. On the exterior are paintings of rocks, flowers, and colourful dancing butterflies, vividly capturing the scene of an autumn courtyard. This type of cup is usually called sanqiubei. While the name literally translates as “three autumn cup”, meaning the three months of autumn, which is the typical length of the season.

Take a closer look at the purple butterflies on the cup. The glaze used on their wings is rich in colour and has a dry, matte surface. This shade of purple is called chazi, unique to doucai of the Chenghua period.

The doucai technique incorporated blue-and-white underglaze and colour overglaze, making its production work-intensive. For their exquisite colours and delicate bodies, doucai porcelains of the Chenghua period were highly regarded by literati and connoisseurs of the late Ming dynasty.

© The Palace Museum