Jingdezhen Pure Handmade Clarke Porcelain Hand Painted Blue and White Blooming Daily Collection Dinner Plate

We chose this "Clark" blue and white glazed porcelain plate, which was taken from the decorative style of folk kiln blue and white glazed porcelain from the late Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty. It was painted with domestic Zhejiang materials. The blue and white hair color is grayish blue, with ancient charm, and the water separation technique was used to form three or four color scales. Painters skillfully use the brush, regardless of hook, dot and dye, they are free and easy.

Reproduction of "Clark" Porcelain
Although this "Clark" blue and white flowered porcelain plate is not as expensive as the official porcelain, it can be used as a daily necessities of our people to hold fruits, snacks and snacks. It is also the scenery on the dining table. Long term preservation will also become a home collection. After all, the price of manual production is always rising. However, most of the crazy ancient Chinese ceramic artworks at the auction today are just excellent daily handcrafts at that time.

In 1602, the Portuguese port of Clark and the Santa Catharina successively trafficked bulk Chinese commodities (mainly blue and white porcelain of the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty) from China, which were intercepted by the newly established Dutch East India Company. These porcelains were sold in Middleburg and Amsterdam, the Netherlands respectively, which made huge profits. This "trade event" shocked Europe and greatly stimulated the desire of the Dutch East India Company to operate Chinese goods, especially Chinese ceramics. At that time, because the specific place of origin of this kind of porcelain was unknown, the porcelain for export fired in the Wanli period of China was obtained by intercepting a merchant ship from the port of Clark in Portugal. It was first put on the auction market in the Netherlands, and Europeans named this kind of porcelain "Clark Porcelain".

According to the statistics of relevant foreign archives, from the establishment of the Dutch East India Company to the 34th year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (1602-1695), 20 million pieces of Chinese porcelain were sold to Europe (including blue and white porcelain, multicolored porcelain and wide color porcelain in the Ming and Qing Dynasties). Among the porcelain sold to Europe are products of pure Chinese style, Western style products fired to adapt to European living customs and aesthetic habits, and products of integration of Chinese and Western styles.
This kind of porcelain with unique style should refer to the Ming Dynasty's Longqing Sea Ban. In the early years of Hongwu in the early Ming Dynasty, the conquering imperial edict "pieces of plates cannot enter the sea" and the implementation of the sea ban policy severely restricted overseas trade. It was not until 1667, the first year of Longqing in the Ming Dynasty, that it announced the opening to the outside world, abolished the sea ban, and allowed overseas trade and commerce. From Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, porcelain for export began to be sold overseas, which was very popular with Europeans.

Clark porcelain was not first introduced into Europe by the Dutch. As early as the 16th century, this kind of porcelain was brought to Portugal and Spain by Portuguese traders. At that time, the monarchs of these two countries owned this kind of porcelain, and they also set up special exhibition rooms in the imperial palace.

Since Clark porcelain became an important commodity of the Dutch East India Company, its price has declined in the European market, and the middle class and the general public can own this kind of oriental porcelain from afar. Although Clark porcelain is no longer a luxury only enjoyed by the royal family, the European love for it has continued unabated, and this special trade continued until the time of Yongzheng and Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty. According to Dutch C.J.A. Jorg, in the 39th year of Qianlong's reign, the number of porcelain shipped to Britain by the Dutch East India Company reached nearly 400000, of which Clark porcelain should no longer be a minority.

"Kaiguang" is also called "Kaitangzi" among the old artists in Jingdezhen, which is one of the commonly used decoration methods in ceramic art. In order to make the decorations on the artifacts vary or highlight a certain image, a space of a certain shape (such as fan, diamond, heart, etc.) is often reserved at a certain position of the artifacts, and then decorative patterns are decorated in this space, which is called "Kaiguang". That is to say, in the prominent parts of the objects, the round and square shaped frames are outlined with lines, and various patterns, such as landscapes, people, flowers, etc., are painted inside the frames, playing a prominent role in the theme decoration.

Clark porcelain is thin, with round mouth and diamond mouth, and round mouth is common. Wide plate edge, shallow arc belly, flat bottom, round foot. Unequal sizes. The ornamentation is divided into three groups. The bottom center depicts the main ornamentation, including flowers, flower baskets, birds, dragons and phoenixes, strange animals, landscapes and people. Except for the exotic style of flowers and flower baskets, other paintings are of traditional Chinese style. The main pattern is surrounded by a continuous arc pattern, usually with six, seven and eight continuous arcs. The continuous arc is filled with pomegranate solid pattern, swastika pattern, honeysuckle pattern, etc. This is the second group of decorative ribbons. The third group of ornamentation characters are from the outside of the arc to the opening of the plate, which is characterized by open light. According to the size of the disc, there are 80 kilowatt hours and 20 kilowatt hours. There are fan-shaped, diamond shaped, lotus petal shaped, oval shaped and other forms of lighting. There are often large lighting and small switching light alternating forms. The gap between lighting is filled with pomegranate grain. Inside the lighting, peach fruit, bergamot, litchi (homophonic litchi), miscellaneous treasures and seasonal flowers are painted, implying longevity, happiness and fertility respectively.

The painting brush of Clark Porcelain is wild and natural. The carefree brushwork is unrestrained. There is almost no constraint on the brushwork. It shows the painter's mind that the master is calm and comfortable. He does not ask for work but works on his own. The drawing is full but not dense. It is complex but not chaotic. Although it belongs to full dense layout, the images are sparse, breathable, and the visual effect is very good.
The blue and white of Clarke porcelain has a thick hair color, slightly blackened or grayed, and very pure rich and colorful porcelain is rare. Some blue and white porcelain has a blue tinged purple hair color. The reason is that domestic blue and white cobalt materials are mixed with imported blue and white materials in a certain proportion.

Reshaping the Glory of "Clark" Porcelain
We chose this "Clark" blue and white glazed porcelain plate, which was taken from the decorative style of folk kiln blue and white glazed porcelain from the late Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty. It was painted with domestic Zhejiang materials. The blue and white hair color is grayish blue, with ancient charm, and the water separation technique was used to form three or four color scales. Painters skillfully use the brush, regardless of hook, dot and dye, they are free and easy.

Reproduction of "Clark" Porcelain
Although this "Clark" blue and white flowered porcelain plate is not as expensive as the official porcelain, it can be used as a daily necessities of our people to hold fruits, snacks and snacks. It is also the scenery on the dining table. Long term preservation will also become a home collection. After all, the price of manual production is always rising. However, most of the crazy ancient Chinese ceramic artworks at the auction today are just excellent daily handcrafts at that time.

The book "Notes on Making Porcelain - Thinking, Thinking and Living of a Porcelain Man", written by Mr. Tu Ruiming, the founder of Wuju, was highly recommended by Lao Shu for painting. As the only work of creative culture, it was selected into the theme book list of 2016 China's Most Beautiful Bookstore Week. The book is unique in its simple and true record, traditional and innovative beauty.

THE HISTORY OF BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN
• Blue and white porcelain began to be made in large amounts in Jingdezhen starting in the Ming(1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties,gradually becoming the most recognizable ceramic style in both the East and West.
• This blue and white vase can tell you a lot about China's international history.
• The story begins with the mineral known as cobalt,which the Persians used to make a unique pigment which turned blue when heated.
• In the 13th century when the Yuan Dynasty took over China, Islamic culture penetrated into Chinese territory.
• Blue was a favorite color of Muslims as it symbolized water-"the treasure of the desert".
Chinese masters worked the imported blue powder into floral scrolls on the stark white porcelain, so the style came to be known as Qinghua, which literally means blue flowers.
• Later in the Ming and Qing dynasties, Qinghua was made in large amounts in Jingdezhen and became the most recognizable style in both East and West.
• Vessels exported from China could be found all around the world, from national museums to private collections.
• Many cultures around the world have had their symbols etched in Chinese blue and white.

THE HISTORY OF JINGDEZHEN
Jingdezhen, a world-famous porcelain town in Jiangxi. In Chinese, the name Jingdezhen is virtually synonymous with ceramics,particularly porcelain.
• Historical records tell of Jingdezhen (then called Xinping) making porcelain in the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD), while archaeological excavations have shown evidence of Jingdezhen firing porcelain in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (265-420).
• Jingdezhen Porcelain developed rapidly in the Song and Yuan dynasties (960-1368), and a series of imperial factories was set up in Zhushan (a district of Jingdezhen) during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1912), making Jingdezhen the nation's porcelain center.
• Jingdezhen porcelain is characterized by its beautiful shapes, various varieties, rich decorations,and unique styles. It is quite famous for its white porcelain, which is known for being 'white as jade,bright as a mirror, thin as paper, and sounding like a rock'.
• Regarding Chinese porcelain's glaze, blue was traditionally taken as the most precious color.
• During the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127),Jingdezhen kilns imitated the tone and moist texture of blue and white jade, and creatively fired a kind of qingbai ware ('blue-white' ware).
• The production of blue-white ware made Jingdezhen Porcelain particular important and famous at home and abroad.

OUR CRAFTSMAN
• We have many Chinese masters of arts and crafts, Jiangxi masters of arts and crafts, as well as national first-class technicians and professional cooperation teams.
• These craftsmen have been employed for more than 20 or 30 years and were born in Jingdezhen's porcelain family.
• Their craftsmanship has also been passed down from generation to generation. We hope that through the efforts of the company and the craftsmen, the Chinese traditional ceramic culture as well as technology and aesthetics can be truly integrated into modern life, so that more people can feel, touch and use these artifacts.
• This is more like a dialogue with the ancients and the modern people.

• Porcelain transformed from the soil of nature
• It was once called "white gold" in western European countries
• Blue and white porcelain is the first global commodity
• The Ming Dynasty was at the beginning of global trade
• Witness the prosperity of porcelain trade between China and the West in the 17th century