Home > The Princessehof collection of Asian ceramics > Chinese and Japanese trade ceramics > 1. Mid 15th to early 16th century porcelain
Home > The Princessehof collection of Asian ceramics > Chinese and Japanese trade ceramics > 1. Mid 15th to early 16th century porcelain
The first Ming emperor, Hongwu (1368-1398) closed China to the outside world and issued a decree prohibiting overseas private trade and travel abroad. He thereby reversed the politics of the preceding Yuan dynasty (1279-1368). The manufacture of porcelain at Jingdezhen declined but continued for consumption at the court in Beijing and for domestic purposes. Emperor Hongwu directed his attention to tribute trade, the system whereby foreign rulers, who wished to have relations with China, offered tribute. Porcelain continued to find its way abroad through foreign ambassadors who visited the Chinese court, or as gifts to foreign countries. Overseas trade, now curtailed, had been, until then, the domain of private entrepreneurs of various nationalities: Chinese, Arab, Indian and Southeast Asian. Porcelain was exchanged with Arab traders in Southeast Asia for aromatic spices and jungle products. However, the imperial decree incited smuggling, in the course of decennia on an ever growing scale.
The names of the emperors Yongle (1403-1424) and Xuande (1426-1435) are associated with seven maritime expeditions under command of admiral Zheng He, a Muslim eunuch. His fleet explored the Southeast Asian Islands, Sri Lanka, India and the Persian Gulf. Zheng He collected exotic animals and objects to bring back to China. More important, his expeditions were meant to revive foreign trade, but impose government control over it. This control of trade took place at designated ports. During the 15th century they included Quanzhou in Fujian, Ningbo in Zhejiang and Guangzhou (Canton) in Guangdong. The trade was largely in the hands of Muslims.
In the mid 15th century no great overseas expeditions were undertaken. Imperial revenue, collected from trade, diminished. As military expenditure was a charge on this revenue, the navy could not be kept in order and China declined as a maritime power.
The first westerners to arrive at the close of the 15th century in Southeast Asia, the Portuguese, brought major changes. In 1511 they conquered Malacca where the lucrative spice trade was concentrated. The fall of this important emporium to the Portuguese was to affect almost anyone participating in this trade. The inter-Asian network of commerce gradually fell into their hands.
The reigns of the emperors Zhengtong (1436-1449), Jingtai (1450-1456) and Tianshun (1457-1464) were all short-lived and the period is also known as the Interregnum (1436-1464). Porcelain with reign marks dating from this period is not known. Four-character imperial reign marks on porcelain had appeared for the first time on a small scale in the early 15th century during the reign of Yongle. From the times of Xuande the name of the dynasty was added, an imperial reign mark now consisting of six characters, although pieces marked with the four-character mark are not uncommon. Reign marks would continue to be used until the beginning of the Republic. The fact that there was a succession of emperors in the middle of the century only reigning for about six years each and that the period was a very disturbed one, could account for the absence of reign-marked pieces.
The selected objects decorated in underglaze blue or polychrome enamels date from about the mid to the end of the 15th century. The majority of these were produced in private (min yao) kilns in the vicinity of, and in Jingdezhen. These kilns produced by no means only medium- and low-quality wares intended for domestic use or the export. Many min yao kilns fulfilled official orders as well and were quite capable of doing so.
Among the mid 15th century wares the number of shapes is limited. They include wine jars, meipings, vases, sprinklers, dishes and bowls. The decorations are often derived from popular legends described in books with woodblock print illustrations. Human figures are often portrayed with billowing robes. This windswept appearance is also found in contemporary painting. The clouds are painted in twisting thick lines with numerous small lines attached to convey shading. Compared to the beginning of the century there are marked differences in the glaze and the cobalt. The glaze used in the early 15th century and referred to in the West as orange peel is replaced by a smoother, slightly more opaque one. Containing residues of iron, this glaze has a somewhat greenish tone. The cobalt used for the decoration has a high iron content and was obtained locally. It fires to a somewhat greyish, even blackish blue colour and has less depth and brilliance than the cobalt brought back from Persia, allegedly by Zheng He, and used in the early 15th century. The decoration was often outlined in dark blue and filled in with a wash, another difference with earlier times when the cobalt from Persia required that the design was first brushed onto the object and outlines and accents were dribbled on. This early technique was used frequently again in the later 16th and 17th centuries on Zhangzhou (Swatow) and Kraak porcelain.
Blue and white export porcelains of the late 15th century are solid and have compact white to greyish-white bodies. Dishes typically have a recessed base and an undercut foot. Large dishes have an unglazed base, on smaller ones the base is glazed. The glaze is often slightly bluish. The cobalt varies from a light to an almost black blue. As on mid 15th century porcelain many designs are outlined and filled in with a wash. Floral elements dominate: lotus, peony, chrysanthemum, and the lingzhi fungus. The dragon and the phoenix are frequently depicted, one type being the dragon with the foliate tail. The phoenix is represented with outspread wings and in profile. Buddhist motifs such as the conch shell, the vajra, the lion dog or fish appear, but not often.
The early 16th century is mostly represented here by polychrome objects. Among them is a striking early covered jar combining underglaze blue with red, green and yellow enamels. Enamel decoration without the underglaze blue includes red and green as the principal colours with yellow, aubergine and turquoise accents. Two-coloured porcelains became very popular in the early 16th century. A recurrent motif is the imperial five-clawed dragon with incised scales.
