Chapter 1,247 The Peak of Blue and White Porcelain
The artistic achievements achieved by ceramics in the Qing Dynasty attracted worldwide attention, and their influence on modern design was far-reaching and huge.
From the link between the past and the future during the Shunzhi period, to the flourishing of Kangxi, Yongzong and Qianlong.
Although in the end it inevitably declined due to unrest and other reasons.
But it still left a profound mark in the history of arts and crafts in our country.
Its handed down works reflect the aesthetics, worldview and moral values of the time.
Its aesthetic value is very high. It is not only a precious cultural relic, but also a precious work of art.
Of course, it is also a reflection of the creativity, imagination and aesthetic ability of traditional working people.
During that period, Kangxi's blue and white, five-color, three-color, Langyao red, cowpea red, enamel and other decorative varieties were unique in style;
Yongzheng's pastels, doucai, blue and white and high and low temperature color glazes are pink and soft, simple and elegant.
Qianlong's porcelain making craftsmanship was exquisite and unparalleled.
Blue and white exquisite porcelain, elephant porcelain carvings, imitation bronze, bamboo wood, lacquerware and other special craft porcelain are lifelike and ingenious.
It is worth mentioning that enamel and pastels during the Kangxi period were major inventions made by the working people during this period.
Enamel is a decorative technique introduced from abroad. In the early stage of enamel, the ground color was first painted on the unglazed parts of the carcass, and then flowers were painted. The presence of flowers but no birds was a characteristic.
Pastels are a new variety based on the five colors of Kangxi and influenced by enamel colors.
When depicting characters' clothing or plant flowers, first use arsenic-containing "glass white" as a base, and then use color materials mixed with rue oil to render on top.
Its effect is more elegant and soft, and it is visually softer than colorful, so it is also called "soft color".
The style of porcelain paintings in the late Kangxi period was mostly influenced by the famous painters of the time, the "Four Kings". The decorative contents were mostly landscapes, turquoise, figures in ancient costumes, gods and arhats, ladies and beautiful women, etc.
Of course, during the Kangxi period, imitation of famous porcelain from previous generations was also a feature of production during this period.
For example, the shape imitates ancient bronze wares, and the style features imitate the glaze patterns of major famous kilns.
This kind of imitation depends largely on the emergence of glazes of multiple colors.
For example, "Zang Kiln" produces snake skin green, eel yellow, jicui, pouring yellow, etc.
In the forty-fourth year of Kangxi's reign, Langting was appointed governor and also in charge of kiln affairs. It was known as "Lang Kiln" in history.
During his tenure, he vigorously promoted the innovation of porcelain.
Cowpea red, Langyao red, carmine red, sacrifice red, sprinkled blue, melon skin green, peacock blue, bean green, gold and silver glaze and other varieties of colors and colors have appeared one after another, competing for beauty.
During the Qianlong period, Qianlong porcelain retained the essence of ancient times while absorbing Western art.
Most of the exterior shapes are relatively regular. In addition to common utensil shapes, there are some ingenious and grotesque objects.
Mainly used for viewing, it is said to be "not as powerful as Kangxi and not as beautiful as Yongzheng".
At this time, it was popular to use techniques such as center turning and neck turning on cutters, and the production process was extremely exquisite.
Xiang's raw porcelain technology is superb, imitating wood grain, imitating bamboo ware, imitating lacquer ware, imitating metal ware, etc., which can almost look real.
This is inseparable from the superb skills of the porcelain craftsmen at that time. They mastered the preparation of glazes and the control of fire with a high degree of accuracy, and even imitated other material effects vividly.
By the Qianlong period, pastels had completely replaced five colors, but the quality of the products was not as good as the previous generation.
In pastel ware, we pay attention to the decorative methods of hollowing out and stacking plastics, supplemented by "rolling technology", consecration, engraving, etc.
How good are these techniques and what kind of effects can they achieve? Chen Wenzhe knows very well because he has made them all.
For example, the famous "Gu Yuexuan" porcelain is a kind of precious porcelain signed "Gu Yuexuan". It is named after Gu Yuexuan in the Qianlong Palace.
The production process is also not simple. This kind of porcelain is made by selecting well-made plain bodies from Jingzhen and bringing them to Beijing, ordering the inner court to enshrine paintings by masters of painting, and setting up furnaces in the capital to bake them.
It can be said that these three dynasties are already the essence of Qing Dynasty porcelain.
There are many glaze colors involved, among which the exquisite ones include snakeskin green, eel yellow, jicui, pouring yellow, etc. These are the exquisite ones from the Kangxi period.
Of course, Kangxi's emerald blue and sapphire blue are even more special, after all, they are even rarer.
In addition, the main colors of the Kangxi period, such as red, yellow, green, purple, blue, black and other glaze colors, are worth mentioning.
What is particularly important is that blue and white were rarely used during this period, so Kangxi blue and white are even rarer.
Using less does not mean not using it, nor does it mean not using it.
After that, there was the Yongzheng period, during which more glaze colors were used.
During the Yongzheng period, thin-bodied porcelain was the classic, followed by "color glazes" such as "pastel", "ducai" and "blue and white".
The representative of color glazes is the twelve-color single-glazed chrysanthemum petal plate.
In addition, there are more glaze colors such as cowpea red, Langyao red, carmine red, sacrificial red, sprinkled blue, melon skin green, peacock blue, bean green, gold and silver glaze, etc., all of which achieved great success during this period.
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The last one is Qianlong, among which pastels are the pinnacle, followed by the Zhuanxin vase.
Also, he inherited the artistic achievements of the Kangxi and Qianlong periods, so during this period, various artistic achievements were integrated into one, and he could do everything.
If one really wants to imitate various famous porcelains of the Qing Dynasty, not to mention the entire Qing Dynasty, even just the third generation of the Qing Dynasty would be enough for Chen Wenzhe to imitate.
There were so many varieties of porcelain in the Qing Dynasty, so Chen Wenzhe planned to choose the fine porcelain among them and make a few pieces of each type.
Thinking about it this way, you don’t actually need to do too much. First of all, you must make emerald blue and sapphire blue porcelain. This is a classic among blues!
Let’s talk about emerald blue first. This is really no ordinary porcelain, because Kangxi emerald blue is called the pinnacle of blue and white porcelain.
Blue and white porcelain can be said to be the most distinctive type of porcelain in my country, and it became mature in the Yuan Dynasty.
The Ming Dynasty was a prosperous period for blue and white porcelain, but its real peak was in the Qing Dynasty, to be precise during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty.
The reason why it is said that the blue and white porcelain of the Kangxi period is the pinnacle of all dynasties is because the blue and white porcelain called Cuimaolan appeared during this period.
Cuimaolan uses the pearl material of Nanyun, which is produced in China. Among all the domestic green materials, the pearl material is of the highest quality.
However, if you want to make emerald blue, even pearl materials need to be carefully selected.
It also needs to be processed with advanced calcination methods, so that it is possible to burn the emerald color, which is emerald blue.
According to the description of an old artist in Jingzhen, green-haired blue is a reward from the "Kiln God", and whether it can be burned is completely left to chance.
Modern society has also made conclusions about the firing of green blue.
It is believed that the emerald blue color is the result of "burning" when the kiln temperature is relatively high.
But this statement is more theoretical.
People fire it multiple times at the same temperature and cannot get the desired effect.
Even in modern society, there are still unknown factors in the firing of emerald blue. People still need to continue to work hard in the exploration of porcelain.
Emerald blue and white porcelain is difficult to fire, so not many of it remain in the world.
This is also the reason why this type of blue and white porcelain is so popular.
Of course, in addition to the problem of quantity, the color of emerald blue itself is also very attractive.