Foreword
Porcelain, as a treasure of traditional Chinese culture, not only carries a profound historical and cultural heritage, but also occupies an irreplaceable and important position in the glorious history of Chinese culture. Porcelain has developed and matured since the Eastern Han Dynasty and has a history of nearly 2,000 years. The porcelain craft of the Tang Dynasty was further developed, forming a pattern of "green in the south and white in the north"; During the Song and Yuan dynasties, the porcelain kilns were all over the country, showing a situation of a hundred flowers blooming, the simple and practical utensils and the cultural elements with a great sense of design were perfectly blended, containing pure and elegant artistic taste, carrying the people's yearning for exquisite life, making the porcelain of this period a classic that was difficult to surpass.
In the New Year, in order to thoroughly implement Xi Jinping's cultural thoughts, promote exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, and enrich the spiritual and cultural life of the people, Pingliang and Tianshui worked closely together to jointly hold the "Porcelain on the Elegance - Chenlong New Year Song Jinyuan Porcelain Special Exhibition", which collected 159 pieces (sets) of porcelain from the Song, Jinyuan and Yuan dynasties collected by Tianshui Museum, Pingliang Museum and Zhuanglang County Museum, covering tea sets, wine sets, tableware, study utensils, etc., showing the ancient charm of porcelain from multiple perspectives such as kiln mouth, craftsmanship, aesthetics and function. It enables the audience to feel the outstanding beauty of traditional art, understand the highlight moments of history, strengthen cultural self-confidence, enhance cultural consciousness, and actively participate in the innovative practice of building a happy and beautiful new Pingliang.
Unit 6 Fan Jin Zhuoyu
Yaozhou kiln began to burn in the Tang Dynasty, after five dynasties, to the Song and Jin dynasties reached its peak, is one of the well-known kilns in the north. Its central kiln factory is located in the Tongchuan area of Shaanxi Province, the products are mainly blue glazed porcelain, the glaze is deep olive green, the decoration process is more than carved flowers, the carved patterns are smart and ingenious, commonly known as the "half knife clay" process. The porcelain made by Yaozhou kiln is elegant and simple, the depiction is skillful, the glaze is exquisite, and the shape of the utensils is also diverse, including bowls, plates, pots, bottles, furnaces, boxes, statues, etc. The decorative themes are also very rich, such as baby play, flowers, swimming fish and other objects that people like to see in daily life, all of which are used by potters to decorate porcelain.
Cizhou kiln white glaze box Song Dynasty
Collection of Tianshui City Museum
Yaozhou kiln brown glaze powder box Tang Dynasty
Collection of Tianshui City Museum
Yaozhou kiln brown glaze powder box Tang Dynasty
Collection of Tianshui City Museum
Brown glazed butterfly pattern powder box for five generations
Collection of Tianshui City Museum
Brown glazed Baoxiang pollen box five generations
Collection of Tianshui City Museum
Porcelain boxes, as a common item on women's dressing tables in ancient China, were used to hold spices or makeup powders, and were commonly found in the aristocracy and upper class. It not only carries daily use, but also the essence of art and culture. The boxes are made of various materials and beautifully designed, with various patterns carved or painted on them, which are not only beautiful and practical, but also rich in profound cultural connotations.
Porcelain boxes are a common variety of boxes, among which the blue and white porcelain boxes are particularly famous. The Qingbai porcelain box with its ice-like texture and simple and elegant flowers shows the superb skills and profound cultural heritage of porcelain manufacturing in the Song Dynasty. Such porcelain boxes were not only practical in the society at that time, but also an important object of art collection and cultural research.
Song Su Hanchen "Makeup Lady"
Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA
epilogue
Tea tasting, painting hanging, incense burning, and flower arrangement not only symbolize the life of the literati in the Song Dynasty, but also reflect the Song people's pursuit and taste of beauty. Porcelain, with its unique beauty of form, colorful glaze and delicate decoration, is closely related to these four elegant activities, and is given a special place among the four kinds of leisure and elegance. Porcelain is not only a practical utensil, but also a work of art, it can hold a branch of delicate flowers in spring when tasting tea, add color to the picture scroll when hanging paintings, and can release a curling incense mist when burning incense, and when arranging flowers, it is like Su Shi's "Dingzhou flower porcelain and red jade" in general, adding an ancient charm to the leisure time. These connections made porcelain an indispensable element in elegant activities, giving a deeper artistic meaning to the literati life of the Song dynasty.
In the Song Dynasty, various kilns sprung up one after another, and the porcelain of different kilns showed their own temperament and style. This exhibition selects different types of porcelain from each kiln, and reconstructs the quiet and leisurely life scene of the Song people by subdividing them according to the use function of the utensils. The exhibition not only gives a glimpse of the porcelain style of each kiln, but also shows the prosperity and colorfulness of the cultural life of the Song Dynasty through these exquisite artworks. I hope to immerse the audience in the elegant charm of Song porcelain, and feel the charming charm of Song Dynasty people's life aesthetics and culture and art.