Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Institute
This project takes specific imperial kiln blue-and-white porcelains as its research starting point to explore how foreign visual motifs were selected, adapted, and reinterpreted within the imperial kiln system of the Ming Dynasty. Through close readings of a small number of specific works, I have come to realize that cross-cultural elements were not simply "influenced" or copied, but rather reshaped by court institutions, production standards, and aesthetic demands, thereby entering the narrative of "Chinese art history". This project has helped me understand that cross-cultural exchanges in art history are often gradually formed under the influence of institutions and contexts, rather than being natural occurrences.
Photographed on-site at Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum>
The Construction of Historical Narratives: Materials, Craftsmanship, and Research Based on Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Ceramic Collections（Under review）
Abstract:
This study focuses on seven ceramic artifacts from the Yongle and Xuande periods of the Ming Dynasty, held in the collection of the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum and excavated from the site of the imperial kilns. The selected objects encompass various forms, such as flat vases, candlesticks, bowls, jars, and urns. By synthesizing archival documents and material evidence, the research examines the intrinsic relationship between material properties, craft techniques, and art historical narratives. Moving beyond typological classification and technical description, the study emphasizes how material conditions—such as clay composition, cobalt pigments, and glazes—and technical skills, including shaping, firing, and decoration, influenced the success rate of ceramic production, circulation potential, and preservation feasibility. These factors ultimately determined which objects entered museum collections and art historical discourse.
Through technical comparison, formal genealogy, and decorative motif analysis of the seven artifacts—contextualized within the historical frameworks of tribute ware and export ceramics—this research reveals that the historical narrative of Yongle to Xuande official wares does not represent a complete historical record. Instead, it reflects a selectively constructed account shaped by material durability, technical consistency, and contemporary policy constraints. The study confirms that phenomena such as the dominance of blue-and-white porcelain in Ming official kilns, the prominence of imperial ceramics in museum collections, and the failed export of Islamic-inspired Xuande weres are closely linked to limitations and influences exerted by materials and craftsmanship. This investigation provides object-based empirical support for understanding the constructed logic underlying the art history of Ming dynasty ceramics.
Key words:
Yongle and Xuande periods; imperial kiln ceramics; materials and craftsmanship; historical narrative; export porcelain; tribute porcelain
Blue and White Flattened Flask with Dragon and Sea Waves Pattern
Period
Yongle Reign, Ming Dynasty (1403–1424)
Unearthed Information
Unearthed in 1994 at the Dongmentou Area of Zhushan, Imperial Kiln Factory Site, Jingdezhen
Dimensions
Height: 45 cm; Belly Diameter: 35.5 cm; Mouth Diameter: 8.2 cm; Base Diameter: 14.5 cm
Image Source
Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum
Description
The rim is decorated with scrolling grass patterns, and the neck with scrolling floral patterns. Both sides of the body are adorned with incised three-clawed white dragons on a blue and white sea wave background. It has a shallow oval ring foot, and the base is brushed with glaze.
White-glazed Octagonal Candlestick
Period
Yongle Reign, Ming Dynasty (1403–1424)
Unearthed Information
Unearthed in 1983 from Zhushan, Imperial Kiln Factory Site, Jingdezhen
Dimensions
Height: 29 cm; Base Diameter: 22.2 cm
Image Source
Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum
Description
It imitates Islamic metalware. Both the base and mouth are octagonal platform-shaped, differing greatly in size. The mouth is deep cup-shaped with an inner diameter of 4.2 cm, facilitating the placement of soft-core candles. It has a waisted middle and a concave base surface to catch candle tears. Note: Traditional Chinese candles had hard cores (mostly made of reed or bamboo poles), so Chinese-style candlesticks only had a small hole in the middle for inserting the candle pole, which is completely different from this artifact in shape. Most existing octagonal porcelain candlesticks are Xuande products, while Yongle ones are relatively rare. Unearthed from an early Yongle stratum in 1983, this artifact proves that such utensils were produced in the early Yongle period.
Blue and White Fish Basket-shaped Vase with Lattice Pattern
Period
Ming dynasty, Xuande reign (1426-1435)
Unearthed Information
Unearthed in 1993 from Zhushan, Imperial Kiln Factory Site, Jingdezhen
Dimensions
Height: 13 cm; Mouth Diameter: 16 cm; Base Diameter: 14.2 cm; Belly Diameter: 22.4 cm
Image Source
Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum
Description
This bowl has the same shape and size as Exhibit 28: Red-Glazed Bulging-Belly Covered Bowl. The outer wall is painted with blue and white grid patterns, interspersed with white scrolling grass patterns on a blue background, and a circle of blue and white lotus petals adorns the bottom of the belly. The inner rim is decorated with dot colors, and a six-character blue and white double-circle mark is inscribed on the base. The interior is fully covered with white glaze. A duplicate artifact is collected by the National Palace Museum in Taipei; this one lacks a cover.
Blue and White Single-Handled Jar with Interlocking Floral Scrolls
Period
Ming dynasty, Xuande reign (1426-1435)
Unearthed Information
Unearthed in 1988 from Zhushan, Imperial Kiln Factory Site, Jingdezhen
Dimensions
Height: 13.5 cm; Mouth Diameter: 7.5 cm; Base Diameter: 4.1 cm; Belly Diameter: 12 cm
Image Source
Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum
Description
It has a straight mouth, bulging belly and recumbent foot. The belly is painted with blue and white scrolling four-season floral patterns, with upward and downward deformed lotus petal patterns above and below. The mouth is decorated with a circle of lotus petal patterns, and the rim is adorned with dot patterns. A ridge runs through the middle of the single handle, and a circle of convex ridges encircles the shoulder. This artifact imitates Islamic metalware.
Blue and White Pilgrim Bottle with Two Handles
Period
Ming dynasty, Xuande reign (1426-1435)
Unearthed Information
Unearthed in 1982 from Zhushan, Imperial Kiln Factory Site, Jingdezhen
Dimensions
Height: 29.5 cm; Mouth Diameter: 3.2 cm; Base Diameter: 6.5 cm; Belly Diameter: 20.4 cm
Image Source
Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum
Description
The body is oblate with a thin neck at the upper end, constricted in the middle, and a small curved ear on each side, resting on a short rectangular ring foot (Yongle artifacts of this type have oval ring feet). Both sides of the belly are painted with Islamic patterns, surrounded by a circle of scrolling grass patterns. A six-character horizontal blue and white mark is inscribed on the mouth, below which is a circle of scrolling floral patterns, and the outer side of the ears is decorated with chrysanthemum patterns. This artifact’s shape imitates 12th-century Islamic metalware.
Blue and White Octagonal Candlestick
Period
Ming dynasty, Xuande reign (1426-1435)
Unearthed Information
Unearthed in 1988 from Zhushan, Imperial Kiln Factory Site, Jingdezhen
Dimensions
Height: 27 cm; Base Diameter: 20.7 cm
Image Source
Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum
Description
Both the socket and base are octagonal platform-shaped, connected by a conical column in the middle. The surface of the base is concave to catch candle tears. The deep socket indicates it was used for holding soft-core candles, and its shape imitates Islamic metalware. The dense yet neat blue and white decorations consist of as many as eleven layers from the mouth to the base, which is extremely rare. The foot is unglazed, and there is a 6.7 cm diameter unglazed ring on the inner base of the candlestick, indicating a cylindrical support was installed in the middle during firing to prevent collapse due to the heavy neck socket. Its firing technology is more advanced than that of similar Yongle artifacts, and this mark can be used to distinguish Yongle and Xuande candlesticks.
Blue and White Straight-necked Ewer
Period
Ming dynasty, Xuande reign (1426-1435)
Unearthed Information
Unearthed in 1993 from Zhushan, Imperial Kiln Factory Site, Jingdezhen
Dimensions
Height: 33.5 cm; Mouth Diameter: 7.1 cm; Base Diameter: 10.5 cm; Belly Diameter: 17.5 cm
Image Source
Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum
Description
It has a short spout, deep belly and ring foot. The interior of the foot is fully glazed with a six-character blue and white double-circle mark inscribed. The belly is painted with scrolling chrysanthemum and peony patterns, and the neck is decorated with scrolling lychnis patterns. The handle is curved with cloud-shaped ends, and the spout has a small gourd-shaped hole. This artifact imitates Islamic metal water containers.