QINGBAI WARE: CHINESE PORCELAIN OF THE SONG AND YUAN DYNASTIES/EDITED BY STACEY PIERSON

摘要

From among the corpus of beautiful, monochrome wares of the Song and Yuan dynasties (10th-14th centuries), qingbai ware (its name means 'bluish-white') stands out. Qingbai porcelains have thin, translucent bodies, elegant forms and subtle glazes whose shadowy, blush tints are a product of reduction firing. Yet despite its refinement and charm, qingbai was seldom singled out as imperial ware by the exacting inspectors who supplied the palaces with table and ceremonial ceramics. Instead, it was produced in bulk to supply the huge domestic market in China, and the even larger export markets abroad. Porcelains with qingbai glazes have been found in contemporary sites in Japan, Southeast Asia, the Arabian and Persian Gulfs and as far west as Cairo.