The claws with dragon patterns in the Yuan Dynasty mostly have 3 or 4 toes.
The first and second toes of the Ming Dynasty dragon are relatively crab-claw-like, with the distance between the toes relatively close, shaped like a windmill.
In the Qing Dynasty, the first and second toes were stretched out in a straight line, and the claws seemed to be stepping on flat ground, giving the impression of a dragon's body dancing while its claws were on the ground and receiving force.
In addition, the decoration of the dragon body changed a lot during the three dynasties.
In the Yuan Dynasty, the dragon body was decorated with scale patterns, in the Ming Dynasty, the dragon body was decorated with grid patterns and more zigzag patterns. In the Qing Dynasty, the fish scale pattern was common, and most of the fish scales had dyed spots.
The dragon pattern composition of the Yuan Dynasty highlights the artistic effect of two dragons chasing each other, or flying among the clouds. The two dragons are one dragon looking forward with its head raised, and the other dragon looking back, echoing the front and back.
The layout of the Ming and Qing Dynasties focused on three-dimensionality. The heads of the two dragons, one high and one low, correspond to the top and bottom.
In particular, the dragons of the Qing Dynasty often had their bodies twisted into a bow shape, with a section of the belly falling down, resembling a snake's belly, which was unique to the dragon patterns of the past dynasties.
The representative work of the dragon pattern in the Yuan Dynasty is the eight-sided plum vase with blue and white sea water and white dragon pattern produced by Jingzhen Kiln.
From this piece of porcelain, it can be seen that the dragon pattern porcelain of the Yuan Dynasty is very distinctive, and the dragon pattern has not changed much from the previous dragon patterns. Most of them are standing dragons and wandering dragons.
Because the dragon body has an elongated head and small patterns, the entire dragon pattern gives people a childish and cute feeling, but it is still vigorous.
The dragon patterns on Yuan Dynasty porcelain are often lined with Ganoderma lucidum-shaped clouds, and are also lined with long flame patterns.
There is also a very famous dragon pattern in the Yuan Dynasty, which is the blue glaze and white dragon pattern plate. Of course, there are also blue glaze and white dragon pattern large jars and plum vases!
Among the classics there must be peonies, such as blue and white jars with entwined peonies and clouds and dragons, and some underglaze red peonies with clouds and dragons, etc.
Chen Wenzhe has already done a lot of peony patterns, but now that he is doing dragon patterns, he has to study the craftsmanship of the Yuan Dynasty.
Potters of the Yuan Dynasty used lines to outline the shape of the dragon pattern. The dragon's head is viewed from the side at an angle, with its mouth slightly open and its tongue sticking out.
The dragon of this period has round eyes, as if wearing glasses, and its forehead is slightly raised.
The hair on the head and the joint hair on the legs are both in the shape of ribbons.
Thin lines are used to depict scale patterns or grid patterns on the body surface. Each limb has three or four claws. The claws are long and sharp, like an eagle's claws.
But in the Ming Dynasty, the dragon patterns were different, and it can be said that there have been great changes.
Although the Ming Dynasty dragon pattern and the blue and white porcelain of the Ming Dynasty were developed on the basis of the Yuan Dynasty, the image of the dragon pattern has undergone significant changes.
This change is most obvious on the dragon's head, body and claws.
There are not many ceramic dragon patterns from the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty that have been handed down. The most representative one is the Hongwu white-glazed red dragon pattern plate unearthed from the Ming Palace in Jinling.
The shape of its dragon pattern basically maintains the shape of the dragon pattern of the Yuan Dynasty.
That is, the head is small, the neck is thin, the body is slender, the dragon pattern is scaly, surrounded by flame patterns, and the head is like a cloud;
The hair on the head and elbows is even less than in the Yuan Dynasty, only three or four hairs;
The five toes of the dragon claw changed the phenomenon of three or four toes in the Yuan Dynasty, and the five toes at this time were closer to each other.
Yongle, the dragon pattern of the Xuande period changed the childish dragon form of the previous dynasty with a thin body and a small head, into a thick and fat body, mighty and fierce, and a tall image.
The dragon's head is larger than that of the Yuan Dynasty, the upper and lower jaws are longer, and the upper jaw is longer and higher than the lower jaw.
There are open and closed mouths. The tongue when opening the mouth is extended (longer in the early stage, like a halberd, later slightly shorter and slightly upturned), and the upper lip in the closed mouth is like a wishful thinking.
There are symmetrical long curved whiskers on both sides of the nose, and there are usually two or three bundles of sparse whiskers on the lower jaw.
The hair on the head is bunches of sparse hair, with less hair in the early stage and more hair in the later stage.
It curls and rushes upwards, with the tendency to burst into anger and look very powerful.
The dragon's claws have three, four, or five toes, and the toenails are triangular in shape, slightly curved inward, and appear sharp and strong.
People call the dragon claws of the Ming Dynasty eagle claws, which is not without reason.
The dragon pattern at this time is surrounded by sea waves, twining flowers, flames, clouds, etc.
The clouds at this time were completely different from those in the Yuan Dynasty. In the Yuan Dynasty, they had one head and one tail, while in Yongxuan, they had three or four tails.
The Yunwei of the Yuan Dynasty appeared thin and long, while the Yunwei of the Yongxuan Dynasty appeared fat and short.
Therefore, if you pay a little attention during identification, it will not be difficult to distinguish clearly.
The dragon patterns of the Yongxuan Dynasty are all successful artistic masterpieces from modeling to painting;
The dragon's body "turns from left to right like lightning", which is a manifestation of ferocity and divine power.
By the middle of the Ming Dynasty, namely the Chenghua, Hongzhi and Zhengde periods, the dragon patterns were different.
During the Yongxuan period, the mighty dragons with open teeth and claws were rare. A kind of closed-mouthed dragon was common, which often appeared among flowers, lotus ponds, and sea water, or with colorful clouds and dragon patterns.
In addition to closed-mouthed dragons, there are also a small number of open-mouthed dragons and chilosaurs.
At this time, the characteristics of the dragon pattern are also very obvious. The dragon head with its mouth closed is flat and rectangular, and the upper lip and nose are convex, in a wishful shape.
There are symmetrical hairs on the tip of the nose and eyebrows, and the hair on the head is bundled into sparse hair or a puffy shape, and also rushes upward, almost at 90° to the vertical angle of the head.
The lower lip must be drawn forward and upward in three bundles, and the eyes should be parallel and wide open to look straight.
The five toes of the dragon's claws are close together, forming a pinwheel shape.
The scales on the body were painted delicately in the early stages, but simple and rough in the later stages.
During this period, a kind of chilong also appeared, also called the grass-tailed dragon.
The body is like an animal, with feet that resemble either animal feet or bird feet. It opens its mouth and sticks out its tongue. The upper jaw is longer than the lower jaw. The upper jaw is high and rolled forward, slightly like an elephant's trunk.
The dragon's tail has many forks, resembling spring grass patterns, and it holds a broken lotus in its mouth.
This kind of dragon pattern became relatively rare in the future, and only imitations were seen during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty.
During the Jiajing, Longqing, and Wanli periods of the late Ming Dynasty, dragon patterns came in various forms, with the majority being wandering dragons.
Some are dancing facing each other, some are facing forward with teeth and claws waving, some are two dragons vying for pearls, some are looking back, and some are dragons and phoenixes dancing against each other;
Some are walking among the flowers, some are dancing in the colorful clouds, and some are swimming in the waves.
The dragon patterns at this time are divided into open mouth dragons and closed mouth dragons.
The dragon patterns at this time were not as good as those in the early period, and the painters were simple and sloppy. Some dragon scales were painted in a simple grid pattern, and the look was also poor;
Some look thin and weak, as if they have lost the power of dragons soaring into the sky and entering the earth, riding on clouds and seas and dominating the wind and clouds.
At this time, the characteristics of the dragon pattern are also very obvious. The dragon's head is slightly rounded and thinner than the previous one. The mane is shaggy (it used to be sparse), and the hair has the tendency to rush upward or upward diagonally backward.
The upper and lower jaws are longer, especially the upper jaw, which has well-developed meat and a high protrusion, and is shaped like a pig's mouth, so it is called "Pig-mouthed Dragon".
At this time, the dragon has symmetrical long whiskers growing on both sides of its nose, rushing upward or forward.
The two eyes are juxtaposed and the eyes are wide open, and the eyebrows are drawn in a zigzag shape or juxtaposed into symmetrical bundles, thrust forward like a dagger.
Openmouth dragons often extend their tongues, which are short and straight like a dagger, and some of the tongue ends are slightly curved upward.
The dragon's claws and five toes are painted in the shape of a "windmill" like the one painted in the previous dynasty, which is often similar in shape but weak.
After that came the dragon patterns of the late Ming Dynasty, the representative of which was the Chongzhen multicolored dragon pattern plate.
This is a rare fine piece of porcelain from the Chongzhen period, not to mention a multicolored dragon pattern plate, which is even rarer.
Because by the Chongzhen period, it was already the late Ming Dynasty.
The dragon pattern at this time, just like the political and economic recession of the society at that time, looked old and weak.
However, many details can be seen from this Chongzhen multicolored dragon pattern plate.