| Transcript |
- vii Chinese Export Armorial Dinner Service
136 piece set, Qing Dynasty, 18th century
Alice Winthrop Stuart Estate, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
vii Service de vaissette chinois armorie destine � /'exportation service de 136 morceaux, Dynastie Qing, XVIII� siede
which were wanted more for practical purposes than as objects of beauty. Blue and white porcelains far outnumbered any other type of export porcelain. In particular, the wares known as Canton and Nanking (Nankeen) blue and white wares, often with a �Willow-type' pattern (fig.114), and Fitzhugh wares were popular because they were the least expensive of the exports and had a curious and quaint charm for the Americans. By the early 19th century, there was only a limited number of designs being offered.
The deterioration in quality of Chinese blue and white was further accelerated during the 19th century and is perhaps most marked in the quality of the porcelain itself and the white glaze, which are coarser and greyer than before (fig.118). Flowever, occasional pieces of fairly good quality were still being made during the reign of Daoguang (r. 1821 -1850), when there was a short-lived attempt at renaissance in ceramics (fig. 116). In 1853Taiping rebels captured Jingdezhen, slaughtered many of the potters and burnt down the imperial factory, which was not rebuilt again until 1864.
By the reign of the emperor, Guangxu (1875-1908), the quality of blue and white was in most cases quite poor and the decoration was weak and highly formalized (fig. 123). Also at this time, large quantites of very crude and cheap blue and white pieces were being made for everyday use. These examples with their decorations drawn in a slapdash manner are sometimes referred to as �kitchen Qing' wares (fig. 122). Although they are an imperfect utilitarian ware, they are not without charm.
In the 1920�s and 1930�s some blue and white porcelains of higher quality than the 19th century pieces were being produced, which copied the styles of the Ming and Qing periods, but on the whole the glory days of the Jingdezhen kilns were a thing of the past.
The Influence of Chinese Blue and White Porcelain on the Ceramics of Other Nations
The tremendous influence of Chinese blue and white porcelain on the ceramics of the world is obvious in technique, form, decorative motif and composition. The far-reaching effects of Chinese blue and white can be seen over a vast geographical area for a long period of time. The fascination with it and the various imitations of it by widely diverse cultures could fill several volumes. However, with the constraints of time and space, we shall seek only to give a very brief summary of its impact on world ceramics. In general, one can say that the
29
|
|---|
