The text decoration on ancient porcelain, in addition to the common Chinese characters, there are some more special characters. As one of the decorative patterns of porcelain, they have a unique and profound cultural connotation, and are an important material that carries the real and tangible information of ancient civilization exchanges, cultural mutual learning, and trade exchanges. The following is an introduction and interpretation of the three types of porcelain decorations, Arabic, Sanskrit and Tibetan, which are relatively rare and easily confused.
Arabic
Tang Dynasty Changsha kiln blue glaze brown color four-series flat pot Yangzhou City Museum collection Arabic is a commonly used script in Muslim countries, belonging to the pinyin script, the text from right to left, horizontal writing. According to archaeological materials, the Changsha kiln in Hunan Province was the first to fire porcelain decorated with Arabic script in the middle and late Tang Dynasty. It is a kind of blue-glazed underglaze painted porcelain, especially brown and green. Artisans dipped their brushes in colored materials and wrote Arabic on porcelain blanks. The content of the text is often used in Islam, such as "Servant of Allah" and "Allah is the greatest". These porcelain with Arabic decoration rose with the spread of Islam and the prosperity of China's foreign porcelain trade, and had a profound impact on the firing of porcelain for export in later generations. In the Yuan Dynasty, the Arabic decoration seen on the blue and white porcelain of the Jingdezhen kiln is a border or borderless style pattern, represented by the Yuan blue and white plum vase and large plate in the collection of the National Museum of Iran, and this Arabic style is often found on their shoulders, shins or feet. Some are made of perforated red pigment, while others are written in cobalt blue.
According to expert research, these engraved Arabic plum vases were ordered by Abbasid the Great (1578-1629) to be filled in by order of the Abbasid Emperor (1578-1629). Because Abbasid the Great believed that before porcelain was given to his ancestors, he engraved his name on the porcelain and placed it on the niche of the "porcelain palace" of the mausoleum, as if he himself was curtsiying to his ancestors as a sign of supreme respect. Therefore, although they are simple marks, they also let us know the past circulation experience and special use of Yuan Qinghua.
During the Yongle and Xuande periods of the Ming Dynasty, with Zheng He leading a large fleet to the West seven times and visiting the Arabian Peninsula, the Arabic decoration on porcelain also achieved greater development. In particular, the craftsmen of Jingdezhen kiln skillfully integrated the art of Chinese porcelain painting with the traditional crafts of the Arab region, using a brush as a writing instrument, dipped in cobalt blue material, and writing Arabic on the porcelain blank, resulting in the famous export Arabic blue and white porcelain. The text reads, "All things are not Lord," "Praise be to Allah," and so on. During the Zhengde period, because the emperor believed in Islam and knew Arabic, the porcelain decorated with Arabic during this period was not only large in number, but also rich in shape. In addition to bowls, plates, jars, boxes and other living utensils, there are also pen holders, inkstones, candlesticks, stoves and other stationery utensils. In the form of decoration, it is popular to use circles, diamonds or squares as consecrations, and then write Arabic characters in the consecration, most of which are from the Qur'an. Decorative techniques and varieties have also developed, in addition to blue and white at that time, there was also white glaze and red color. Since then, it has been rare to see Arabic decoration on porcelain.
Ming Zhengde Jingdezhen kiln blue and white Arabic pen holder capital museum collection
Ming Zhengde Jingdezhen kiln blue and white Arabic bowl Turkish Topkapi Palace Collection
Ming Zhengde, Jingdezhen kiln, white glaze, red color Arabic plate, Shanghai Museum collection
Ming Zhengde Arabic porcelain screen
The Tibetan language belongs to the alphabet writing system. According to the physical data, it can be seen that the porcelain of the official kiln in Jingdezhen in the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty was the first to appear in Tibetan decoration, and it reached its peak in the Xuande period, and the number of collections in Tibet was relatively large.
Ming Xuande blue and white Tibetan dragon wearing flower monk hat pot, Taipei National Palace Museum collection, the most representative work is the Tibetan Museum collection of this monk hat pot, the abdomen is written in Tibetan for a week, the content is: "day auspicious, night auspicious, noon auspicious, day and night auspicious, three treasures auspicious." "The bottom of the book blue and white double circle" Ming Xuande year system" six-character double-line regular script vertical paragraph. The shape draws on the artistic elements of metalware in West Asia, and is known as a classic work of Chinese and Western porcelain. Similarly, porcelain has also been unearthed in the ruins of the Ming Dynasty imperial kiln in Jingdezhen, and they are completely consistent in terms of shape and ornamentation, which can be called a good evidence of the perfect echo between the heirloom and the unearthed products.
Ming Xuande blue and white Tibetan monk hat pot Jingdezhen City Ceramic Archaeology Institute collection In addition, the Tibetan Museum collection of this high-footed bowl is also quite representative, its outer wall is decorated with eight treasures and lotus petal patterns, the inner wall of the vessel is Tibetan for a week, translated into Chinese is: "The day is safe, the night is safe, the noon is safe, the day and night are safe." "Outer bottom blue and white book" Xuande year system "four-character double-line regular book.
Ming Xuande Jingdezhen kiln blue and white colorful lotus pond mandarin duck pattern bowl Tibet Autonomous Region Sakya Temple Tibetan in addition to blue and white, there are also blue and white colorful. In particular, the collection of Sakya Monastery in the Tibet Autonomous Region is a typical piece of blue and white multicolored lotus pond mandarin duck pattern bowl, which is written in blue and white in Tibetan for a week, which is translated as "auspicious day, auspicious night, auspicious at noon, auspicious day and night, auspicious three treasures." "Circle foot inner script" Ming Xuande year system "six-character blue and white paragraph. Not only is the painting fine and rigorous, but also the production is neat and exquisite.
Ming Xuande Jingdezhen kiln blue and white colorful lotus pond mandarin duck pattern bowl Tibet Autonomous Region Sakya Temple collection of these pieces of blue and white and blue and white multicolored porcelain decorated with Tibetan language, all with the imperial year name, the content of the text is mostly Tibetan Buddhist scriptures or prayer auspicious language, should be the imperial court ordered Jingdezhen official kiln for the Tibetan upper class nobles and specially fired reward porcelain. After Chenghua, Tibetan decorated official kiln porcelain was relatively rare.
Ming Chenghua blue and white Tibetan cup, collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei
Sanskrit
Sanskrit developed in India around the third century B.C., and is said to have been created by Brahma, which also belongs to the alphabet writing system, and the representative fonts are Sidham, Lanza, and Devanagari. Devanagari is popular today and is also the standard Sanskrit alphabet in Indian Buddhist circles and internationally recognized.
Ming Xuande Jingdezhen kiln blue and white Sanskrit halberd lid jar collection of the Ming Dynasty Yongxuan period Jingdezhen official kiln blue and white porcelain on the earliest appearance of Lanza Sanskrit decorative patterns. Represented by the collection of the Palace Museum, the lid jar is written in Sanskrit in the center of the lid and surrounded by four Sanskrit characters, the Sanskrit text is written in a ring for three weeks, and the lotus petals on the top of the lid and the bottom of the jar are also written in Sanskrit.
Ming Chenghua blue and white Sanskrit cup, Beijing Forbidden City These Sanskrit characters are written in Lanza script, the content of the mantra mantra, representing the blessing of the Buddha and the Bodhisattva, implying that the Buddha's light shines, drives away evil spirits and takes refuge and is auspicious. In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, Sanskrit decoration on porcelain was more extensive, and it was also very characteristic of the times. For example, the plates and cups in the Chenghua period, the Sanskrit decoration not only increases the number of words, but also expands the coverage area, and some even all are decorated by Sanskrit, and the decorative effect is strengthened at the same time, but also gives people a visual impact. During the Zhengde period, it was represented by "bouquet Sanskrit", which is an innovative pattern form, and also has the significance of decorative art and chronology.
Ming Chenghua blue and white Sanskrit plate, collection of the Forbidden City, Beijing
In the Qing Dynasty, the Sanskrit decoration on porcelain was constantly innovated and expanded in terms of technique and connotation. In addition to blue and white, there are also bucket colors. In particular, the Sanskrit and "Shou" combination of the "Sanskrit Shou" bucket color pattern, as an official kiln product, has continued to develop until the late Qing Dynasty, regardless of production technology, decorative arts and cultural connotation have reached a high level.
Qing Dynasty blue and white lotus to Sanskrit mantra shallow cup
Qing Daoguang Jingdezhen kiln doucai Sanskrit plate Beijing Art Museum collection through a simple combing of several special text decorations on ancient porcelain, it can be seen that the middle and late Tang Dynasty Changsha kiln porcelain first appeared Arabic, after development, to the Ming Dynasty Yongxuan period Jingdezhen kiln porcelain appeared on the Tibetan and Sanskrit porcelain. These special texts, which are full of mystery, continue to convey a variety of different information and connotations to us, allowing us to understand to a certain extent the intentions of porcelain firing makers and the use of users at that time. However, due to the lack of archaeological data and cultural relics research, it is still necessary to continue in-depth discussion and rigorous interpretation.