Hong Kong Palace Museum | Clay to Treasure: Ceramics from the Palace Museum Collection

3001. Jar with geometric patterns

This is a white pottery jar from the Shang dynasty. The tradition of firing white pottery is believed to have developed in the Neolithic period and continued until the late Shang, around 1100 BCE. However, new research suggests that white pottery production may have stopped during the mid-Shang, before it was revived again in the late Shang. White pottery is only found in tombs of wealthy aristocrats; the jar in front of you is a rare conserved example of this.

Look at the way the jar is decorated. Commonly seen on bronze vessels, the decoration on the neck consists of kui- dragon patterns. The body is further embellished with zigzag patterns, which are typically found on pottery from this period.

Scholars believe that white pottery vessels like this were not used for sacrificial purposes but were instead used to display the relationship between tomb occupants and their ancestors.

© The Palace Museum

3003. Washer

What do you think this object was used for? The shallow interior and wide rim indicate that it is a washer for the brushes used in painting and calligraphy. Despite its ordinary appearance, it was produced by the Ru kilns— one of the “Five Famous Kilns of the Song dynasty”. Ru wares were made for only around twenty years in the Northern Song dynasty, and fewer than one hundred pieces survive today.

Prior to the introduction of Ru ware, the Ding kilns were the main source of ceramics for the Song court. But Ding ware porcelain was produced using a technique that resulted in coarse, unglazed rims. Ru ware, by contrast, was uniformly covered in glaze across the whole surface of vessels. The only unglazed areas were small “spurs” on the ceramics’ underside—from where they rested on three prongs in the kiln.

Ru wares also feature delicate, crackled glazes that are different from many of the glazes on display in this gallery. Which is your favourite?

© The Palace Museum

3004. Vase with dragons among floral scrolls

The eye-catching motif of a dragon among floral scrolls on this bottle first appeared on imperial porcelain of the Yongle Period of the Ming dynasty. Although the practice of marking ceramics with reign marks also began in the Yongle period, the base of this bottle is unmarked.

Blue and white porcelains were produced in many different forms, often with shapes and patterns that were informed by objects from the Islamic world.

Exchanges between China and the Islamic world were already highly developed by the Yuan dynasty, when blue and white porcelain began to be produced in large numbers. These contacts were further established in the Ming, when the famous admiral Zheng He sailed to the West Asia. Large numbers of Chinese porcelains were exported to the Islamic world, while metalware with Islamic motifs and patterns were brought to the imperial court in China. Bottles like this are a product of that trade.

© The Palace Museum

3005. Ritual wine vessel (lei)-shaped jar 

What do you think of when you hear the words “ancient Chinese bronzes”? Many visitors interested in Chinese art probably picture ritual vessels of the Shang and Zhou dynasties—from China’s bronze age.

In fact, craftsmen in China continued to produce extraordinary bronze objects long after this. These objects often inspired developments in other materials.

This ceramic jar from the Qing dynasty was once thought to have been made in imitation of Shang and Zhou ritual bronze vessels. It is now known to have been modelled after bronze vessels made from the Song to Ming dynasties. Though its overall shape resembles earlier bronze vessels, a closer look reveals elements not found on bronzes of the Shang and Zhou dynasties—notably the ruyi patterns with small dots found near the base of the vessel. Likewise, the lion-mask handles on the sides are in the style of objects from the Qing dynasty.

Why do you think this jar was modelled after bronzes from an earlier period? In the late Ming dynasty, antiquarianism—the appreciation for the distant past—was hugely popular with scholar-collectors. They used ancient bronze vessels as flower vases because their time buried in the earth was believed to help flowers bloom. They also purchased ceramics modelled after antiquarian forms from kilns in Jingdezhen, which were sometimes also used to hold flowers.

Understanding objects like this requires careful observation. Many ceramics that seem like simple replicas or imitations of older works are in fact much more complex. As you explore the rest of the gallery, look closely at the works on display to uncover the fascinating stories behind the production and use.

© The Palace Museum

3006. Bowl with dragon roundels

The imperial harem system of the Qing dynasty was formalised in the Kangxi period. An imperial consort’s rank determined the glaze colours, motifs, and quantity of porcelain she could use. These six porcelain bowls correspond to consorts of different ranks. Observe their different glaze colours—can you guess which bowl belonged to the highest-ranking consorts? The answer is the one with yellow glaze both inside and out. Yellow-glazed bowls were reserved for the empress dowager and the empress; each of them were given a hundred of these bowls. Other consorts and concubines were only assigned forty to fifty porcelain bowls based on their ranks.

There were eight ranks in the Qing harem system. At the top was the Empress, who took charge of harem affairs. Below her were the Imperial Noble Consorts, Noble Consorts, Consorts, Concubines, Noble Ladies, First-Class Female Attendants, and Second-Class Female Attendants. Besides porcelain bowls, each rank received specific clothes, food, allowances, and daily necessities as stipulated by the court.

3007. Bowl with lotuses and “longevity” characters

These two exquisite enamel bowls were produced during the Kangxi period. Glazed in yellow, red, blue, and pea green, they are adorned with hand-painted motifs, such as lotus, peony, and the Chinese character for “longevity”. These motifs are commonly seen on the enamels at the time. If you look closely at the lotus and peony petals, you will notice a gentle gradient from dark to light, which accentuates the three-dimensional effect and breathes life into the floral motifs.

The boron and arsenic in enamel pigments render a wide range of colours after firing. Some of these colours were not seen until the Kangxi period. Research finds that painted enamels were available in the Qing court only after around 1711 CE, the 50th year of the Kangxi reign. In the 17th century, Limoges in France was the world’s enamel production centre. Enamel pigments were then introduced to China by European missionaries. The Qing imperial kilns also began to produce their own pigments during the Yongzheng period.

3008. Flowerpot with peonies and birds | Lidded box with flowers

These three beautiful famille rose porcelain pieces are associated with Empress Dowager Cixi. Known for her love for flowers, she planted various blooms within the palace and commissioned numerous porcelain wares and paintings with floral motifs. Take a look at the flowerpot and the holding box on the left. You'll find not only peonies but also orchids and plum blossoms.

The top of the flowerpot is stamped with a "Daya zhai" mark. "Daya zhai" was the name Empress Dowager Cixi gave her personal studio, which was also bestowed with a plaque by the Xianfeng Emperor. During the late Qing dynasty, porcelain produced by the imperial kilns for Cixi would bear inscriptions referring to her residences, such as the Hall of Heaven and Earth United in Spring in the Old Summer Palace and the Palace of Gathered Elegance in the Forbidden City, which was renovated for her fiftieth birthday. If you see one of these marks on a porcelain piece, you can be sure that it was made for the empress dowager.

On the right side of the cabinet is a plate with the “double happiness” character. It was ordered for the grand wedding of the Guangxu Emperor.

Through these late Qing pieces, we can see that the manufacture and style of imperial porcelain were inseparable from the status and interests of Cixi.