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Beyond plays, it's worth exploring the influence of Ming Dynasty novels on the ceramics. The rise of popular novels during the Ming Dynasty had a subtle but noticeable influence on the types of scenes, characters, and stories that were sometimes depicted on ceramic pieces. The novels of the era were a major element of Chinese culture and their influence is apparent in many of the artistic forms that were popular at this time. Scenes and characters from famous Ming novels, such as the Romance of the Three Kingdoms or Journey to the West, occasionally appeared in the decorative schemes of Ming ceramics. These pieces acted as a visual record of the enduring popularity of these classic works of Chinese literature. These depictions of figures and scenes from popular novels brought familiar stories and characters to a new context, which shows the interconnectedness of different forms of art and literature at this time. The influence of Ming novels on ceramics demonstrates the ways in which popular literature could shape visual art and cultural expression. The novels of the time offered potters new ways to explore artistic expression, and a wider range of stylistic choices. |
Tag : Ming novels, Chinese pottery, literary influence, ancient stories, narrative art
While black glazes were used in earlier dynasties, Ming potters achieved a new level of technical mastery in producing deep, lustrous black glazes, often using these glazes to highlight specific forms and decorative elements. This shows that potters during the Ming era were still refining and innovating on previously existing techniques.
While touched on earlier, it's useful to revisit specifically the enduring influence of popular culture in Ming Dynasty ceramics. While courtly art often emphasized restraint, Ming ceramics also reflected the tastes and preferences of a wider audience, often incorporating themes and motifs from everyday life and popular entertainment. These pieces demonstrate the way that art could be used to reflect everyday life and also a more widely accessible cultural vocabulary.
While blue and white dominated, the Ming Dynasty also saw the development and refinement of "five-color" wares (wucai), which employed a range of vibrant overglaze enamels, including red, green, yellow, and aubergine, often used in combination with underglaze blue. These pieces demonstrate a more colourful and decorative style of pottery production that became increasingly popular during this period.
While we've covered innovation throughout, let's bring it all together by focusing on the enduring legacy of innovation in Ming ceramics. The Ming Dynasty is crucial for understanding the development of Chinese pottery due to the many technical and aesthetic innovations that were developed during this time and their lasting impact on later generations.
While underglaze blue was a core component of many Ming styles, some potters experimented with combining underglaze blue with sgraffito, a technique where designs are created by scratching through a layer of slip to reveal a contrasting colour beneath, and this combination of techniques adds both depth and visual complexity to the overall design scheme.