Tianjin Museum – Capital of Porcelain 瓷都芬华

The Tianjin Museum’s collection of porcelain is particularly renowned for its Ming and Qing Dynasty Jingdezhen kiln pieces, boasting a rich and well-organised collection. This exhibition selects some of the museum’s finest pieces, allowing the visitor to appreciate exquisite porcelain art.

The porcelains are presented in chronological order in this presentation. The actual exhibition is clustered by types of porcelain.

Blue and white porcelain vase with dragon and cloud design, Ming Xuande mark 青花云龙天球瓶 明宣德款

This vase has a slightly flared mouth, straight neck, round belly, and a slightly concave sandy base. The body is decorated with underglaze blue, featuring scrolling vines near the rim, cloud patterns on the neck, and a soaring dragon on the belly. The dragon is depicted with its head turned back, mouth open, tongue protruding, eyes wide open, hair standing on end, body robust, and limbs strong, leaping among the clouds with a lively and vivid expression.

The underglaze blue is rich and vibrant, achieved using imported “Sumali Blue” pigment. Due to its high iron content and low manganese content, the blue is deep and emerald green after firing, with iron-black spots appearing on the glaze surface, making it highly distinctive. Below the rim is a six-character inscription reading “Made in the Xuande Reign of the Great Ming Dynasty,” making this a very rare and superior example of Xuande underglaze blue porcelain.¹

Underglaze Red Stem Cup With Three Fish Design, Ming Xuande Mark 釉里红三鱼纹高足杯 明宣德款

This bowl has a flared rim and a high, everted foot that forms a trumpet-shaped edge. It is entirely covered in a white glaze, which is lustrous and exhibits a subtle orange-peel texture. The body is decorated with three plump, slightly raised mandarin fish in underglaze red, their red and white hues creating a lively and charming effect.

The centre of the bowl bears a double-ringed underglaze blue mark reading “Made in the Xuande Reign of the Great Ming Dynasty” in regular script. Underglaze red porcelain is extremely difficult to fire, making surviving examples very rare and highly valuable.²

The admirable, jewel-like colour and texture of these silhouettes was achieved only in the Xuande reign and was not matched again even in the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), when these designs were frequently copied, particularly in the Yongzheng (1723-35) and Qianlong (1736-95) eras. While imitation can be a form of admiration, there’s a difference between being inspired by someone and outright copying them. True inspiration leads to unique creations, like how Yongzheng created a copy that’s better than the original.

Blue-Glazed Bowl With Incised Cloud And Dragon Design 回青釉暗刻云龙纹斗笠碗

This bowl is shaped like a conical hat, with a tapering body and a ring foot. A band of brown glaze surrounds the rim, while the inside of the ring foot is covered with a dark brown protective glaze. Except for the rim and base, the entire body is covered in a celadon glaze.

The interior wall is decorated with an underglaze incised cloud and dragon design. Celadon glaze specifically refers to a type of blue glaze produced during the Jiajing and Wanli reigns of the Ming Dynasty. It is named for the cobalt used in its production, a cobalt colorant made by mixing imported cobalt blue pigment with natural stone blue. This bowl has a regular shape, a purplish-blue glaze, and naturally flowing incised decoration. It is a renowned piece from the Jiajing and Wanli periods, rare in surviving examples, and extremely valuable.³

Blue And White Openwork Floral Pattern Ewer 青花开光折枝花卉纹军持

This item is a Ming Dynasty Chinese porcelain kendi (pouring vessel), a type of spouted water pot specifically produced for export to Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern markets. By the sixteenth century it was carried farther afield to the Middle East, where Persian copies were made. This late sixteenth-century version, not necessarily made for export to Europe, is decorated in patterns that commonly were applied to kraak porcelain.

Ru-type Glazed Flowerpot With Bowstring Lines, Qing Yongzheng Mark 仿汝釉弦纹花盆 清 雍正款

During the Qing Dynasty, a workshop dedicated to producing antique-style porcelain was established within the Imperial Kiln Factory. By the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods, the Imperial Kiln Factory had successfully produced ancient glaze varieties such as Ru glaze, Daguan glaze (Guan glaze), and Jun glaze, achieving a “similarity in both form and spirit.” The imitations of Ru glaze porcelain were most successful during the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns, primarily due to their realistic imitation of Song Dynasty Ru ware glazes.

The quality of the body and glaze far surpassed that of the Xuande imitations, with the body exhibiting a reddish-brown hue reminiscent of the “incense ash body” of Song Dynasty Ru ware. The shapes, while retaining ancient elements, also incorporated innovations, with many pieces bearing the reign mark in underglaze blue or engraved with an iron awl. Besides technical factors, the successful production of these renowned antique-style porcelain pieces was also related to the practice of “firing replicas” based on the ancient porcelain collected by the Imperial Palace.⁵

There are only 6 pieces of this narcissus basin 水仙盆 from Ru kiln left in the world, 4 are in National Palace Museum in Taipei 台北故宮, and one each in Jilin Provincial Museum 吉林省博物院 and the Museum of Oriental Ceramics in Osaka 日本大阪市立東洋陶瓷美術館.

Vase With Kiln-Transformed Glaze And Applied Dragon And Tiger Motifs, Qing Yongzheng Mark 窑变釉贴塑螭虎纹鱼篓尊 清雍正款

Shaped like a fish basket, with a wide ring foot. The belly is decorated with appliquéd dragons and tigers, coiled around the neck, their bodies agile and remarkably lifelike. One dragon climbs upwards, looking back; the other echoes it, its gaze full of vitality. The glaze is glossy and lustrous, a harmonious blend of blue and purple, as radiant as flowing clouds—a masterpiece among Yongzheng-era kiln-transformation glazes. The center of the ring foot bears a square mark in seal script reading “Made in the Yongzheng Reign.” This pair of pieces is especially precious.⁶

Enamel-Painted Lotus Flower Pattern Vase, Qing Qianlong Mark 珐琅彩宝相花纹瓶 清乾隆款

Enamel-painted, aka Falangcai (“foreign colours”), is an exceptionally rare, 18th-century Qing Dynasty imperial enamel porcelain, produced primarily during the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong reigns. Made with Jingdezhen white porcelain and painted inside the Forbidden City, these pieces are renowned for their delicate, often European-influenced, painted scenes and high-value.

These two linked vases have flared mouths, long necks, oblong bodies, and false ring feet. The necks are blue with vermilion striped patterns spiraling around the neck. The bodies are rouge-purple with phoenix and grass patterns carved in a cone, and three groups of lotus flower patterns are painted in openwork on a yellow ground, the colors glossy and lustrous. The interiors and bases are covered with a pale green glaze, the surface of which shows wrinkles with weak light refraction. The mouths and shoulders are decorated with gold, and the base bears a six-character red square mark in seal script reading “Made in the Qianlong Reign of the Great Qing Dynasty.” These vases are magnificent and employ the incised decoration technique, reflecting the Qianlong Emperor’s aesthetic preference for opulent and flamboyant styles.⁷

Famille Rose Chicken Cup with Imperial Poem Inscription 粉彩御题诗文鸡缸杯

This cup boasts an exquisite and pleasing shape, with fine porcelain and glaze. One side of the exterior depicts a playful scene of children frolicking with a rooster, its neck outstretched and crowing playfully. The other side bears an inscription by Emperor Qianlong, titled “Ode to the Chicken Cup,” with the characters “三” (three) and “隆” (Long) stamped in red at the end. Below the poem, a hen leads two chicks leisurely foraging for food, each chick looking around with a charming and lifelike expression. The entire poem, consisting of 132 characters, is neatly arranged within this small space, its composition unparalleled in its artistry. The base bears a six-character, three-line seal script mark in underglaze blue: “大清乾隆仿古” (Great Qing Qianlong Imitation of Antiques). This cup is a masterpiece among Qianlong-era imitations of Chenghua doucai chicken cups.⁸

Imitation Carved Lacquer Glaze Five-Blessing And Longevity-Patterned Covered Box, Qing Qianlong Mark 仿雕漆釉五福捧寿纹盖盒 清乾隆款

A Qianlong-era (1736-1745) imitation carved lacquer box with a five-bat-surround-longevity motif. The box is flat and round, with a sunflower-green glaze inside. The lid features a raised “longevity” character in the centre, surrounded by five bats (bats 蝠 is the homophone of prosperity 福 in Chinese), symbolising “five fortunes surrounding longevity.” The shoulder is decorated with a band of ruyi cloud patterns, the body with connected kui dragon motifs, and the lower part with lotus petal patterns. The base is glazed in vermilion and bears a six-character, three-line seal script mark reading “Made in the Qianlong Reign of the Great Qing Dynasty.” This small, exquisite, and elegant box represents an innovative variety of Qianlong imperial porcelain imitation carved lacquerware.⁹

Antique-Style Jade-Glazed Cong 仿古玉釉琮

The Qing Dynasty represents the pinnacle of ancient Chinese porcelain production, achieving unprecedented heights in terms of quantity, quality, variety, and design. This success was a result of inheriting the achievements of predecessors while continuously innovating. In particular, the porcelain produced during the reigns of Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong saw the imitation of everything from polychrome to monochrome glazed porcelain, copying shapes, decorations, and glazes, while also constantly innovating with the progress of the times.¹⁰

Inscribed Famille-Rose Lotus-Form Cup, 34th Year of Guangxu (1908 ) Mark 粉彩荷花式秋操紀念盃 《大清光緒三十四年安徽太湖附近秋操紀念杯》款

This cup features a pink lotus flower shaped like a boat, with veins outlined on all the petals. A hole at the bottom allows a slender stem to be inserted, serving as a straw. The stem is painted a light green and decorated with thorns. The back of the stem is inscribed in ink: “Commemorative Cup for the Autumn Military Exercises Near Taihu Lake, Anhui Province, in the 34th Year of the Guangxu Reign of the Great Qing Dynasty.” The entire design of this drinking cup is ingenious and unique.

For more information, please follow this link >> https://live2makan.com/?p=112743

Celadon-Glazed Octagonal Square Vase, Qing Xuantong Mark 豆青釉八卦方瓶 清 宣統款

This vase imitates the tubular form of an ancient jade cong. Glazed in a pale celadon colour, this rectangular-shape vessel has four sides that allow for the display of the Eight Trigrams of the Taoist tradition. Simple and straightforward, the vessel is tasteful in both shape and colour. This style typically imitates antique Chinese forms from the Song Dynasty, often produced during the Qing Dynasty or later. Emperor Xuantong (r. 1908-1912) was made famous to the West as the Last Emperor. This vase can be commonly found and not exactly a “treasure.” But it is a good example of how craftsmen get inspiration from the bronze ware and ancient jades, whom would imitate the form with added inspiration from modern times.

Footnotes :

1. 该器青花发色浓重艳丽，系采用进口“苏麻离青料”绘制，由于其含铁量高，含锰量低，因此烧成后青花色洋浓翠，釉面出现铁黑色斑点，极富特色。该器口沿下横书“大明宣德年制”一行六字檔书款，传世极为少见，是为宣徳青花瓷之上品。 ↩︎
2. 此碗撇口，高足外侈，足沿呈喇叭口状。通体白釉，釉色滋润，釉面隐现橘皮纹。碗身绘釉里红鳜鱼三尾，形体丰肥，微微凸起，红白相映，生趣盎然。杯心内有青花双圈“大明宣德年制“楷书款。釉里红瓷器烧造难度极大，传世甚是罕见，极为珍贵。 ↩︎
3. 此碗形似斗笠，敛腹内收，圈足。口施一周酱釉，圈足内施酱黑色护胎釉。除口与外底外，通体均施回青釉。内壁釉下暗刻云龙纹。回青釉是专指明代嘉靖、万历朝烧制的一种蓝色釉。因为烧造回青釉所用的钴料是进口回青与石子青调合而成的钴着色剂，故名。此碗造型规整，釉色蓝中泛紫，刻划纹饰自然流畅。此碗为嘉靖、万历时期的名品，传世较少，甚为珍贵。 ↩︎
4. 侈口，长颈，圆鼓腹，平底。肩部置一金属制短流，无柄。通体青花装饰，腹部绘折枝花卉纹，花叶疏密有致，发色鲜艳莹润。金属短流雕饰一圈云纹与吉祥结。军持为宗教中用以饮水或净手的器皿，造型较为独特。 ↩︎
5. 清代为烧造仿古瓷在御窑厂增设仿古作专责其事，到雍正、乾隆时期御窑厂已成功地烧制出了汝釉、大观釉（官釉）、钧釉等古代釉色品种，并取得「形神兼备」的效果。仿汝釉瓷器亦以雍、乾两朝最为成功，主要是仿宋代汝窑瓷器的釉色逼真，胎釉质地远在宣德仿制之上，胎体灰中泛红褐色，颇似宋汝器「香灰胎」。造型袭古又有创新，器物外底多有以青花书写或以铁锥刻划的本朝篆体年款。除技术因素外，能成功地烧造仿古瓷名品还与以内府收藏的古瓷为样本「照样烧造」有关。https://www.dpm.org.cn/Uploads/File/2019/12/06/u5de9ec55603c0.pdf ↩︎
6. 呈鱼篓状，宽圈足。腹部贴塑螭虎，绕颈盘旋，身躯矫健，极其生动。其一由下往上攀爬，回首相望；另一螭虎互相呼应，顾盼生姿。釉面光亮润泽，青紫交融，灿若流霞，是雍正窑变釉中的精妙之作。圈足内中心篆书阴文“雍正年制”四字方款。此尊成对，犹为珍贵。 ↩︎
7. Pair of painted enamel vases with embossed rosette designs and Qianlong mark 清 乾隆款珐琅彩胭脂紫轧花地宝相花纹瓶（一对）
   Porcelain | Qing dynasty, Qianlong period(1736-1795) | H: 25cm, D (rim): 6.7cm, D (base): 6.5cm | Tianjin Museum collection. 瓷器｜清乾隆（1736—1795）｜高25厘米  口径6.7厘米  底径6.5厘米｜天津博物馆藏
   
       珐琅彩瓷的正式名称应为“瓷胎画珐琅”，是专为清代宫廷御用而特制的一种精细彩绘瓷器。珐琅彩瓷创烧于康熙晚期，雍正、乾隆时盛行。其特点是瓷质细润，彩料凝重，色泽鲜艳靓丽，画工精致。
     三代珐琅彩瓷的发展有各自的时代特点。康熙时候的珐琅彩绘大都仿照铜胎画珐琅时的色彩图案。施色匀净是康熙珐琅彩的最大特点；雍正初年时珐琅彩绘变化不大，构图仍是呆板的对称，但写生画开始多了起来，有了些活力，背景地仍是胭脂红、黄、蓝、白等色；乾隆珐琅彩绘受西洋画影响很大。色彩特点是：杏黄细腻而泛红，蓝色鲜艳，胭脂红色浓而透明。
     天津博物馆藏的一对清乾隆款珐琅彩胭脂紫轧花地宝相花纹瓶，非常典型。高25厘米、口径6.7厘米、底径6.5厘米。这对勾连瓶，撇口，长颈，长圆腹，假圈足。颈部蓝色地，朱红色条状图案，作螺旋状绕颈一周。腹部胭脂紫地，锥剔出凤草纹，黄地开光绘三组宝相花纹，色彩光亮油润。瓶里及底均施淡绿釉，釉表呈现折光不强的皱纹，口、肩部描金彩，底中心篆书“大清乾隆年制”六字红色方款。此瓶富丽堂皇，采用轧道工艺装饰手法，体现了清乾隆崇尚华贵艳丽的审美风尚。
   
   https://www.tjbwg.cn/cn/collectionInfo.aspx?Id=2617 ↩︎
8. 此杯造型隽巧怡人，胎釉精良，外壁一侧绘顽童戏鸡图，雄鸡引颈高吭，作调戏状，神态可掬；另外一侧书乾隆御题诗《咏鸡缸杯》一文，诗尾铃印红彩“三”、“隆”二章，诗文下更见雌鸡带领两只雏鸡悠然觅食，雏鸡各有盼顾，神态可爱传神。全诗一百三十二字，于方寸之间井然书列，章法之妙堪可独步于世。底书青花“大清乾隆仿古”六字三行篆书款，此杯为乾隆时期仿成窑斗彩鸡缸杯中的精品佳作。 ↩︎
9. 清乾隆款仿雕漆五福捧寿纹盒, 呈扁圆形, 盒里施葵绿色釉, 盒盖中央凸雕一团形寿字, 外雕五只蝙蝠环绕, 寓意“五蝠捧寿”, 盒肩部饰一周如意云头纹, 盒腹为上下相接的夔龙纹饰, 胫部为莲瓣纹, 盒底朱红色釉, 印阳文“大清乾隆年制”六字三行篆书款。此盒小巧玲珑, 文雅秀气, 是乾隆官窑瓷器仿雕漆的创新品种。https://www.sohu.com/a/229824212_100155197 ↩︎
10. 程晓中， 清康熙、雍正、乾隆时期官窑瓷器的仿古与创新《收藏家》2018年第2期
    清朝是中国古代瓷器生产的最高峰，无论是产品的数量还是质量，品种还是造型，都达到前所未有的高度。这都是继承前人的成就，又不断创新的结果。特别是清康熙、雍正、乾隆三朝的瓷器从彩瓷到单色釉瓷无所不仿，仿造型、仿纹饰、仿釉色，随着时代的进步，还不断创新。http://www.silkroads.org.cn/portal.php?mod=view&aid=79408 ↩︎