Among the porcelain, the plum blossom pattern decorated with white flowers on a blue ground is called "ice plum pattern" in the ancient ceramic world.
This is a tribute and admiration for the plum blossom’s character of being clear and proud and not afraid of the severe cold.
In ancient times, plum blossoms were regarded as one of the four gentlemen among flowers.
Plum blossoms bloom in the cold winter, but when hundreds of flowers bloom in spring, they leave silently, never competing for their beauty.
The noble character of plum blossoms, which are noble, tenacious and modest, has become the spiritual residence that Chinese literati pursue and yearn for.
Plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum were known as the Four Gentlemen in ancient times. They were auspicious and inspirational decorative patterns that were popular on ancient porcelain decorations. Among them, the plum blossom pattern is even more popular among the world.
It was very popular during the Kangxi period to use this so-called "ice plum pattern" pattern with blue ground and white flowers to decorate porcelain.
The Kangxi ice plum pattern pattern uses cobalt material on a blue ground to achieve the special effect of five colors.
In the plum blossom paintings of this period, most of the petals are painted with flower centers.
This ice plum pattern jar is round and full in shape, small and exquisite, the glaze is very thin and hard, and the green material is pure and bright in color.
There are shrunk glazed brown eyes on the inner and outer soles, and the brown eyes mostly penetrate into the fetal bones.
The feet at the bottom are very neatly cut, forming a rounded loach back, and the texture is as fine and white as glutinous rice.
The inscription "Kangxi Year System" is written on the green material at the bottom, which is well preserved.
This small jar of iced plums is quite expensive.
Therefore, there are many modern imitations of Kangxi Bingmei.
Chen Wenzhe had encountered it before. It was imitated by the little devils, and they imitated quite a lot.
Even many imitation Bingmei porcelain produced by the Japanese were imported into the country and sold as Kangxi Bingmei porcelain.
Bingmei porcelain is actually blue and white porcelain with white flowers, and there is a lot to distinguish between genuine and fake.
The quality of the body, the glaze, the patterns, the shape of the vessel, etc. all need to be carefully identified.
However, you must pay attention to some antique imitations.
For example, during the Guangxu period, the imitation of the Kangxi ice plum pattern was almost like the real thing.
But the shape, texture and glaze of the vessel can help you identify it.
To put it simply, Bingmei uses Zhejiang materials to thicken different color levels in the same painting pattern, so that dark blue, light blue and white have the effect of three-dimensional ice layers with different viewing angles, as if the glaze is mixed with ice slag.
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Once you master the characteristics, it is not difficult to identify.
This ice plum pattern, also known as the "cracked ice plum pattern", was created in the Kangxi Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty.
So how was it created and burned? In fact, it was made to imitate the ice crack pattern of the official kiln of the Song Dynasty, but it was just a decorative pattern of plum blossoms or plum branches painted on the porcelain.
This kind of Bingmei porcelain uses an irregular combination of short lines to express ice cracks.
Jingzhen kiln's ice plum pattern is mostly painted with blue and white or five colors, especially those painted with blue and white are the most stylish, and are often decorated on bottles, cans, plates and other utensils.
Kangxi ice plum pattern lid jar is the most typical ice plum pattern work.
The entire body is painted with ice-crack patterns using thick blue and white materials, and is slightly smudged with light blue and white materials.
In it, white plum blossoms are outlined, blue and white contrast with each other, and the cold plum blossoms are especially fragrant, which has the charm of literati painting.
In the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, there were many imitations on porcelain kilns.
The characteristics of the Kangxi ice plum pattern are very obvious.
The plum pattern of Kangxi folk kilns is more realistic, the flower shape is full, elegant and unique, the outline of ice plum is delicate and full of changes, and it has the highest artistic achievement.
The plum pattern of Yongzheng folk kiln has a sparse composition, a bold painting style, and a good sense of hierarchy.
The double-line outline of the Bingmei Bingcracks in the Qianlong folk kiln follows rules and lacks natural changes, and the artistic achievement of the painter is not high.
The compositions of Qingjia and Dao folk kilns are full of colors, sparse and elegant.
The plum patterns of Xianfeng folk kilns have a serious tendency to be eucalyptized, with poor painting skills and a lack of color variation.
There are not many ice plum utensils from Tongzhi folk kiln, but the painting skills are better than other flower decorations of the same period, and the plum blossoms are in plain and elegant colors.
The plum pattern lines of Guangxu folk kilns are stiff and lack change. Although there are layers, they are not smooth.
It can be said that this kind of porcelain has been favored since the creation of the ice plum pattern in the Kangxi Dynasty.
Therefore, they have been made in all dynasties, especially the ice plum pattern jars are the most popular.
The "seventh description of bottles and jars" in Xu Zhiheng's "Yin Liu Zhai Shuo Porcelain" of the Qing Dynasty is the ice plum pattern jar, which shows the status of ice plum pattern porcelain at that time.
Good things are naturally liked by everyone.
So what should we do if the quantity is too small? Future generations will definitely be unable to resist imitation.
So is the firing process of ice plum pattern porcelain difficult?
Is it difficult to say, because it is just using antique craftsmanship.
Ice plum pattern porcelain imitates the ice crack pattern of the Song Dynasty.
However, it is really not easy to imitate well.
First of all, the blue and white porcelain of Kangxi Ice Plum Pattern is bright in color, like the dark blue sky;
Secondly, Kangxi ice plum pattern porcelain uses the blue and white water separation technique, which was the first of its kind in the Kangxi Dynasty;
Also, the Kangxi ice-plum pattern porcelain has a blue and white ground all over its body, and ice cracks are depicted with thick blue and white.
In the blank space, first draw the lines of plum blossoms with a brush.
Then dip it in blue and white material and outline the plum blossom petals and branches.
This creates a more layered feel, which is a unique phenomenon of the ice plum pattern during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty.
This is the only way to identify Kangxi ice plum pattern porcelain;
In addition, if you want to identify a piece of Kangxi ice plum pattern porcelain, you must pay attention to its glaze.
The glaze of Kangxi Bingmei porcelain is scattered with pinhole-like fine bristles, which is caused by the relatively low firing temperature.
In addition, Kangxi ice plum pattern porcelain has a delicate and white texture, and it feels like glutinous rice;
What makes it even more difficult to make is the quality of the porcelain body. Kangxi Bingmei porcelain is relatively heavy to handle, indicating that the porcelain body quality is good;
Therefore, if you want to imitate Kangxi Bingmei porcelain, you must pay attention to the body glaze.
Outside of the glaze, it is naturally the most important thing.
However, it is not difficult for Chen Wenzhe to imitate the glazes of the third and third dynasties of the Qing Dynasty.
If there was a Kangxi Bingmei jar, it would be easier for him to imitate this kind of porcelain.
With the actual object, he could perfectly replicate the blue and white glaze used by Kangxi Bingmei.
This naturally depends on Li Jinli. As long as he wants to, with his current connections, he should be able to buy an authentic product.
Even if you can't buy it, it shouldn't be difficult to borrow one and let Chen Wenzhe play with it.
Handing the task to Li Jinli, Chen Wenzhe got back into the activity of imitating blue and white porcelain.
If you want to perfectly imitate a Kangxi Bingmei, in addition to the glaze, the most important thing is the quality and craftsmanship.
Whether it is ice cracking craftsmanship or plum blossom decoration, it is easy for Chen Wenzhe to complete.
But the quality of the fetus, just like the glaze, also depends on God's will.
The quality of Kangxi Bingmei porcelain is really extraordinary.
The texture of this kind of porcelain must be loose, and the sound must be clear and crisp when struck.
You can tell whether it is antique porcelain by looking at the degree of dryness of the carcass.
In fact, this is not just the Qing Dynasty, any antique can be identified in this way.
For example, Ding kiln is divided into Nanding and Beiding. The carcass of Beiding must be thick, and the carcass of Nanding must be thin.
When buying porcelain, it is best to bring a flashlight.
When identifying, do not look from the inside out, but look from the outside in, and then observe the projection inside the porcelain.