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Official and Private Porcelain Kilns of Ancient China
In the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the imperial government set up a special
supervisory department to take charge of tribute porcelain production, and in
the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), the imperial government designated certain kilns
solely for the production of tribute porcelain, while allowing them to continue
producing porcelain for common people. This practice continued until emperor of
the newly founded Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) ordered a kiln to be built in
Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, the specific purpose of which was to produce
porcelain for the imperial court. This kiln was known as an official, or
imperial kiln.
Official Kilns: Luxury
Upon demarcation from private kilns, official kilns embarked on a new road of
growth and developed the following distinctions. First, by virtue of their
imperial appointment, official kilns were served by a strong team of master
artisans recruited from across the country that used only the very best raw
materials in pursuit of high quality and artistic excellence.
Second, the porcelain produced included objects both for daily use and
purely aesthetic purposes, such as the eggshell porcelain of the Ming Dynasty.
This porcelain is as thin as an eggshell, the actual body of the work barely
visible beneath its transparent glaze. In the process of being fashioned, the
body is scraped until it becomes eggshell thin, to the extent that it is
possible, when held to the light, to discern the veins of a finger through its
thin wall.
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