Blue-and-white Porcelains

The Blue-and-White Porcelain Plate with Patterns of Swimming Fish and Lotus Pond

Because they are relatively scarce, the blue-and-white porcelain of the Yuan Dynasty is very precious. According to the statistics by experts, there are only over 400 blue-and-white porcelains of the Yuan Dynasty around the world, in which more than 200 ones are in China, and about half are collected overseas. Recently, the Shanghai Museum has gathered the fine blue-and-white porcelains of the Yuan Dynasty from many museums in the world and held an exhibition. Blue-and-White Porcelain Plate with Patterns of Swimming Fish and Lotus Pond is one of the finest ones on the exhibition.

It was collected in Hunan Provincial Museum, China, at present. It has a caliber of 45 cm and a bottom diameter of 25 cm, which is typical of those made by Jingdezhen Kiln during the Yuan Dynasty. It is large and dazzling. The blue-and-white color is very dazzling, and the outer wall is painted with lotus and pomegranate patterns, while the inner wall, from rim to center, has three groups of patterns. The plate center is drawn with one gurnard and one mandarin fish. Gurnard is on the upper part. It has a small head, a huge body, a slightly opened mouth, apparent scales, and a dorsal fin. The mandarin fish beneath it is the one mentioned in the verses “In front of Xisai Mountains, egrets fly here and there, peach flowers are in full bloom, and there are fat mandarin fishes swimming in the river,” written by Zhang Zhihe, a poet in the Tang Dynasty.

Mandarin fish has a sharp mouth and sharp teeth on the lower jaw. On its branchiostegal, there are dorsal fin and anal fin. The body of this fish has fine patterns. The blue color at the back of the fish is strong, and the color becomes less slight gradually towards the belly, being white. So, it is very natural and vivid. Around the habitat of gurnards and mandarin fish, there are lots of lotus flowers and leaves as well as all kinds of waterweeds. They look graceful and are flowing with the water waves, presenting a seemingly dynamic picture. Two fishes swim leisurely between the lotus leaves. This scene has a poetic flavor of “fish playing between lotus leaves” in the regions south of the Yangtze River.

In ancient China, “fish playing between lotus leaves” has a very auspicious meaning. With the partial tone of lotus “lian (succession)” and the partial tone of fish “Yu (surplus),” the whole picture implies a good wish of “being the richer and richer year after year.” The belly wall and plate center are isolated by white rings. Around the fishes, peonies and winding tree branches are drawn symbolizing wealth. The peonies are charming and beautiful. Around the rim, a circle of seawater waves is drawn. These unrestrained and smooth lines remind us of the running waves on the sea. The layout of this plate shows great ingenuity. The blankness between the plate center and the belly wall seems to be the white space on Chinese monochromes. Thus, the whole picture is layered and it highlights the theme of “fish playing between lotus leaves” at the plate center.

The Blue-and-white Porcelain Jar with Fish Pond Patterns

For the blue-and-white porcelain of the Yuan Dynasty, it is very common to have animal decorations like those on the plates with fish patterns. Most of the animals have auspicious meanings and vivid sculptures. Most of them open their mouths and swing their tails, being very dynamic, which conveys an artistic charm to people. In ancient China, fish symbolizes richness and happiness, so, many blue-and-white porcelains of the Yuan Dynasty have the patterns of fish and weeds on them.

Blue-and-white Porcelain Jar with Fish Pond Patterns has a similar decorative theme as that of the Blue-and-white Porcelain plate with Patterns of Swimming Fish and Lotus Pond. The jar had a circle of seawater waves at the rim and a ring of peonies and winding tree branches at its shoulder and neck. At the belly, there are blooming lotus flowers, flowing lotus leaves, and the waterweeds swaying with the waves. A mandarin fish and two carps swim between lotus leaves and the waterweeds. Mandarin fish, lotus flowers, and leaves are pretty similar to those on the Blue-and-white Porcelain Plate with Patterns of Swimming Fish and Lotus Pond in form. People may imagine that they were probably made by the same person.

The Blue-and-white Jar with Patterns of Mandarin Ducks in Lotus Pond

The Blue-and-white Jar with Patterns of Mandarin Ducks in Lotus Pond is also included in the blue-and-white porcelains of the Yuan Dynasty themed by a lotus pond. It is decorated with seawater waves at the rim and drawn with a small lotus pond at the body. In the pond, many lotus flowers are in bloom, lotus leaves sway in the wind, a pair of mandarin ducks are swimming and tweeting, as if they are telling their stories to each other. It is very vivid.

The Blue-and-white Porcelain Jar with Peafowl and Peony Patterns

The animal patterns on the blue-and-white porcelain of the Yuan Dynasty are very dynamic. Besides lifelike fish and vivid mandarin ducks, there are also images of peafowl, Phoenix, Kylin and the Chinese dragon.

On the body of the Blue-and-White Porcelain Jar with Peafowl and Peony Patterns, there are two peacocks (a male and a female), in which one is moving and the other is still. One turns its head, staring, and the other raises its head and is going to fly away. They both open us their mouths to tweet as though they are calling each other and singing a romantic song.

The Four-eared Flat Rectangular Pot

The front side of the Four-eared Flat Rectangular Pot is a computer painted with the images of Kylin and Phoenix. The Phoenix is flying with its wide-open wings, and the Kylin is looking back with its tail up. Around the phoenix and Kylin, poised and elegant peonies thrive. On the other side, there is a couple of peacocks, which are surrounded by peonies of various postures that wind tree branches. One of them is in the air with its widely-opened wings while the other is looking up with its head up. On both sides of the pot, there is a string of chrysanthemums respectively, the upper part of which is decorated with auspicious patterns. The whole pot is so complicated and looks very luxurious.

The Blue-and-White Plate with Cloud and Chinese Dragon Patterns

Among the animal patterns of blue-and-white porcelain of the Yuan Dynasty, the image of the dragon is the most common. Most of these dragons look brave, fearless, and solemn, flying to the sky. They all have the typical features of a Chinese dragon in the Yuan Dynasty. The dragon on the Blue-and-White Elephant-Eared Porcelain Vase with Dragon-and-Cloud Patterns has four claws. It flies in the cloud sea with raised head and opened mouth. The dragon on the Blue-and-White Porcelain Plate with the Pattern of a Chinese Dragon in Water is slender. It seems to be flying up from a lot of water waves and the split seawater sprays around it. That is really magnificent.

Among the blue-and-white porcelains decorated with cloud and dragon patterns, the most peculiar one is the Blue-and-White Plate with Cloud and Chinese Dragon Patterns. The plate body is overall blue-painted, and in the center, there is a white-outlined giant Chinese dragon that is chasing a fireball. The Chinese dragon looks brave and fierce and is flying up toward the sky. The plate has a simple layout. Its lines are lively and smooth. Thus, people can see a magnificent picture of a Chinese dragon coming out of the water and flying above the clouds. The Blue-and-White Plate with Cloud and Chinese Dragon Patterns belongs to the blue-and-white porcelains during the Yuan Dynasty. But it has a blue base and white patterns, which is the opposite of those with a white base and blue patterns.

The Blue-and-White Plate with Cloud and Chinese Dragon Patterns mainly uses blue pigment for background and white patterns to form the artistic effect of highlighting a bright colors with dark colors. The blue pigment used on the blue-and-white porcelain of the Yuan Dynasty is produced in a small amount and is very expensive, and it would cost much to paint blue over the whole body, so the blue-base porcelains with white-pattern are very rare.

The Octagon Prunus Vase with Blue Seawater and White Chinese Dragon Patterns is also a rare blue-base and white-pattern pattern. The vase is rich in blue, has flying Chinese dragons with opened mouth and stretched claws outlined using the blue-base and white-pattern method. They are flying in great waves and look very magnificent.

The Beauty of Color Change

Some people may ask how could the various animals be described in such detail on blue-and-white porcelain of the Yuan Dynasty with just the two colors of blue and white. In fact, it is just like the five colors of ink in traditional Chinese ink paintings. The blue pigment used on the porcelains can also be categorized into five different colors. Ancient Chinese craftsmen used blue pigments with different colors just to the point, so that they created vivid and delicate animal images.

On blue-and-white porcelains of the Yuan Dynasty, people could see some mandarin ducks echoing each other from a distance, a peafowl singing with emotions, a phoenix flying with wide-opened wings, a Kylin looking back with a raised head and dragons of various postures. The craftsmen used the different shades of the color blue to create the various animals in different forms and postures. For the dragon on the Blue-and-White Elephant-Eared Porcelain Vase with Cloud-and-Dragon Patterns, the scales are outlined with light blue which and light white. The dragon’s head and body are painted dark blue. The proper contrast between the dark and light blue makes the Chinese dragon very vivid. The painting of auspicious clouds is also very skilled. The color change in shade, starting from the center of the auspicious clouds, makes the auspicious blue clouds fascinating and gorgeous.

The fish in the Blue-and-white Porcelain Plate with Patterns of Swimming Fish and Lotus Pond also has the beauty of color changing. The color is dark blue on the fish back. It turns lighter on the fish belly and is evenly white on the pelvic fin, showing the beauty of color changing on the fish’s body. So, the fish looks vivid, as if it is alive. The painting method is very similar to that of “Picture of a Fish Pond in Spring” of the Song Dynasty. The highly realistic painting style on the porcelain exhibits painting skills of painters from the Song and Yuan dynasties, which shows the exquisite painting skills of the porcelain maker. It indicates that most craftsmen making blue-and-white porcelains at that time had very great artistic attainments.

Summary

The mandarin ducks, peafowl, phoenix, Kylin and dragon on the blue-and-white porcelain of the Yuan Dynasty all have implied meanings in ancient China. The mandarin ducks imply a harmonious couple who have an undying love for each other. The peafowl implies wealth, honor and good fortune. Phoenix is the leader of birds and the symbol of auspiciousness. Kylin is the symbol of mercy, and it is an auspicious animal that only appears during the time of peace and prosperity. The dragon represents authority and dignity and is mostly used for the imperial family.

The appearance of blue-and-white porcelains of the Yuan Dynasty opened a new era of transition from the bisque to faience in the porcelain industry. Colors, starting from blue-and-white porcelain of the Yuan Dynasty, appeared on various porcelains. Many blue-and-white porcelains represented by Blue-and-White Porcelain Plate with Patterns of Swimming Fish and Lotus Pond show people how simple colors such as blue and white can blossom on porcelains.