Longquan kiln is a famous kiln in Chinese history and one of the six major kiln systems of the Song Dynasty. The treasures of the traditional Han porcelain-making process are named because their main production area is in Longquan City, Zhejiang Province.
Longquan kiln was founded in the Three Kingdoms and Two Jin Dynasties, ended in the Qing Dynasty, the history of porcelain production for more than 1600 years, is the longest porcelain kiln system in the history of Chinese porcelain, its products sell well in Many countries and regions in Asia, Africa, Europe, the impact is very far-reaching.
Longquan kiln is famous for firing celadon porcelain, and the product style before the early Northern Song Dynasty was influenced by the Yue kiln, Ou kiln, and Wuzhou kiln, and the characteristics were similar to the products of the three kilns: the tire quality was thicker, the carcass was thicker, the glaze color was pale and green, and the glaze layer was slightly booked.
In the Northern Song Dynasty, it was more pink-blue, and in the Southern Song Dynasty, it was onion-blue, there was no opening piece at the turn of the vessel, often the exposed tire showed the tire color, the porcelain glaze was thick, and the decoration was rarely carved and scratched, and the popular use of appliqués and reliefs, such as the pisces pattern was often posted on the plate, and the tangled peony pattern was pasted on the bottle.
Southern Song Dynasty Longquan kiln plum green glaze "double phoenix ear bottle"
The middle and late Northern Song Dynasty was an important period for the development of Longquan and began to form its own style. The carcass is relatively thick, but the shape is regular, the glaze color changes from light blue to green and yellow, and the products are mainly based on living utensils, including bowls, plates, cups, pots, bottles, cans, etc., and there are carved flowers, scratches and castor patterns in the decorative process. Patterns include flowers, birds, fish and insects, and baby motifs.
During the Southern Song Dynasty, Longquan kilns achieved unprecedented development, and Longquan celadon entered its heyday. At this time, the Yue kiln celadon industry, which had flourished in the Tang Dynasty and the five dynasties, had withered away, only the quality of Longquan celadon had been significantly improved, and the well-known pink blue and plum blue glazed porcelain colors at home and abroad were successfully fired in the Longquan kiln of the Southern Song Dynasty and pushed the beauty of celadon glaze color to the peak. Judging from the porcelain pieces of the kiln site, the products have two categories: white tire (gray white) and black tire thick glaze. Among them, the white tire celadon is about ninety percent, the black tire celadon is only a small amount, but the quality is very good, the tire book glaze has the characteristics of purple iron feet, and there are many similarities with the official kiln porcelain under the altar of the Southern Song Dynasty, which should be the official kiln porcelain fired by the Southern Song Dynasty Shaoxing from the first year to the nineteenth year of Shaoxing and for a long time afterwards.
The Southern Song Dynasty Longquan kiln type has bowls, plates, pots, plates, cups, pots, pots, pots, slag buckets, water injections, water bowls, pen holders, stoves, qun, pots, bottles and so on.
The Longquan kiln in the Yuan Dynasty was several times larger than in the Song Dynasty. The Longquan kiln porcelain of the Yuan Dynasty is characterized by the shape of mostly carcasses, in addition to continuing to produce Song Dynasty vessels, innovative varieties include goblets, diamond plates, lotus leaf lid jars, ear bottles, anchovies and so on. The quality is not as good as that of the Southern Song Dynasty, the tire quality is rough, the glaze is bright, the warmth is like jade, and the decorative techniques include scratching, printing, appliqué, piling, engraving, dot color, etc. The ornamentation is rich in themes, including yunlong, flying phoenix, flowers and birds, fish and insects, eight immortals, eight auspicious, miscellaneous treasures, etc., and some have text decorations.
Under the influence of the exquisite skills and exquisite glaze color and superb quality of Longquan kiln, in addition to more than 300 kiln sites in Zhejiang, such as Dayao, Jincun, Xikou, Dabai'an, Xiaobai'an, Wutongkou, Beacon Mountain, Xianghu, Daotai, Shantou Kiln, Songxi, Malangli, Anfukou, Anrenkou, Dafang, Daqi, Xiacun, Wuxi, etc., there are also many kiln sites in Jiangxi and Fujian provinces that imitate longquan celadon porcelain. A huge Longquan kiln system was formed. This is one of the few in the Song and Yuan dynasty kiln porcelain, ranking among the best.
Longquan kiln also entered Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, North Korea and East African countries in large quantities through shipping, forming a maritime "porcelain road".
In the Ming Dynasty, the Longquan kiln was upright in shape, the glaze was thick and blue, and many large porcelain products were still collected by domestic and foreign artists. However, due to the implementation of the sea ban in the Ming Dynasty, the sales of celadon outside the sharp decline, the porcelain kilns around the large kiln have been closed, and some kilns have changed to the firing of folk common celadon porcelain, and its shape and firing are not as exquisite as before. By the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, there were few kiln sites left, and the Longquan celadon of several dynasties had finally withered away.
After the founding of New China, the Longquan kiln, which was on the verge of extinction, was reborn. In the early 1950s, Premier Zhou instructed the resumption of Longquan celadon production. In 1961, Longquan Celadon began to resume production and regained its luster with a new attitude.
Throughout history, the three glories of Longquan kiln are closely related to the court, whether it is the production of "tribute utensils" or the establishment of official kilns, which are the most powerful driving forces for the rapid development of Longquan kilns.
"Chinese Ceramics - Longquan Kiln Porcelain" special stamps
In order to reflect the long and splendid history of Chinese ceramic art, on October 13, 1998, the State Post Bureau issued a special stamp of "Chinese Ceramics - Longquan Kiln Porcelain", a set of 4 stamps, Record Number: 1998-22.
"Chinese Ceramics - Longquan Kiln Porcelain" special stamps: respectively, the Northern Song Dynasty five-pipe bottle, the Southern Song Dynasty wind ear bottle, the Yuan Dynasty gourd bottle, the Ming Dynasty carved flower three fruit pot.
4-1 Northern Song Dynasty five-tube bottle
(4-1) for the "Northern Song Dynasty five-tube bottle". The pattern is based on a porcelain "five-tube bottle" produced by the Longquan kiln during the Northern Song Dynasty.
The bottle is 39.5 cm high, 8.2 cm in diameter and 9.5 cm in diameter, which is a national first-class cultural relic, excavated from Duntou Village, Chatian Town, Longquan City, Zhejiang Province, and is now stored in the Longquan Museum.
The five-tube bottle in the picture has a light cyan glaze color, crystal smooth, straight mouth, round shoulders, deep abdomen, and shoulder edges with five tubes in the shape of a lotus stem, which means that the wind and rain are smooth, and the grain is abundant.
The bottle cap is a three-layer structure: the upper layer is a water lotus leaf, the center of the lotus leaf is a bud-shaped cover button; the middle layer is a compound lotus, the pedicle is a lotus pond, and four small ducks play around the pool, two of which are small fish with their mouths and the other two are foraging; the lower layer is a double relief lotus petal, the petal surface is drooping, and the petal ridge is raised.
The overall structure of the five-tube bottle is vivid, the carving is exquisite, and the fun is full of fun, marking that the celadon shape of the Longquan kiln in the middle and late Northern Song Dynasty has been relatively exquisite, and the firing technology has reached a higher level.
4-2 Southern Song Dynasty phoenix ear bottle
(4-2) for the "Southern Song Dynasty Phoenix Ear Bottle". The pattern is based on a porcelain "wind ear bottle" produced by the Longquan kiln during the Southern Song Dynasty.
The bottle is 26.5 cm high, 10.3 cm in diameter and 10 cm in diameter, which is a national treasure level cultural relic, excavated from Songyang County, Zhejiang Province in 1983 and now in the Songyang County Museum.
The phoenix-ear bottle in the picture, shallow plate, barrel-shaped long neck, phoenix ears on both sides of the neck, bean blue glaze, elegant and generous shape, not conventional.
The biggest feature of the phoenix ear bottle is that the glaze color is verdant as jade, the luster is soft, and the non-general glaze color is comparable, which is a rare treasure of Longquan celadon porcelain.
4-3 yuan · gourd bottle
(4-3) for "Yuan · gourd bottle". The pattern is based on a porcelain "gourd bottle" produced by the Longquan kiln in the Yuan Dynasty.
Bottle height 30 cm, caliber 4.4 cm, foot diameter 7.5 cm. It is a national first-class cultural relic, which was excavated in the kiln collection of Qingtian County Department Store in Zhejiang Province in March 1984 and is now in the Qingtian County Cultural Relics Management Committee.
In the picture, the bottle is made of two sections of gluing, its shape is a small waist gourd, the shape is novel and unique, both dignified and moist, the lower abdomen glaze has an open piece, the outer sole has two layers of decoration, the circle foot is unglazed, and it is vermilion.
4-4 Ming carved flowers and three fruits to hold the pot
(4-4) for "Ming carved flowers and three fruits holding pot". The pattern is selected from a piece of porcelain produced by the Longquan kiln in the Ming Dynasty, "Carved Flower Three Fruit Holding Pot".
The pot is 33 cm high and 8.3 cm in diameter, which is a national first-class cultural relic, and is now in the Palace Museum in Beijing.
The pot is used as a drinking utensil. The farmers in the Oujiang River Basin have always had the custom of brewing and squeezing sugar in winter, and it is difficult to import cold wine in winter, so the heated rice wine is placed in the pot for deliberation, which can play a role in heat preservation.
In the picture, the carved flower three fruits holding the pot is glazed with beans, the shape is symmetrical and beautiful, and the beautiful long stream (curved spout) is matched with a rounded crank, which has both a symmetrical aesthetic and a dynamic change from the whole. The stream is connected to the neck of the pot in a cloud-shaped horizontal piece, the body of the pot is decorated with carved flowers, the neck is carved with banana leaf patterns, and the loquat fruit is engraved on both sides of the abdomen. Loquat fruit is a common decorative pattern used by Longquan celadon in the Ming Yongle and Xuande periods, which means many children and many blessings, auspicious and peaceful.
"Chinese Ceramics - Longquan Kiln Porcelain" special stamp 4-1 edition
"Chinese Ceramics - Longquan Kiln Porcelain" special stamps, selected from the Northern Song, Southern Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties of the Qingdou porcelain treasures, to represent the four stages of the development of Longquan kiln porcelain, reflecting its full picture.
The special stamp designers of "Chinese Ceramics - Longquan Kiln Porcelain" are Wang Huming and Ren Yu. The 4 patterns of the stamps, using a unified background, from bottom to top from gray and white to gray blue, light, shallow, transitional natural, successfully set off the elegant texture of porcelain such as precious jade and jadeite, highlighting the holy, soft, moist and warm character of porcelain, with high aesthetic value.
A thousand-year-old famous kiln, full of square inches. The issuance of four stamps of "Chinese Ceramics - Longquan Kiln Celadon" further shows the unique status of Longquan Celadon in the history of Chinese ceramics, and has important positive significance for promoting the accelerated development of Longquan Celadon porcelain.