Trade Taste & Transformation: Jingdezhen Porcelain for Japan,1620–1645

In seventeenth-century Japan, Chinese porcelain was prized--so much so that it became an important part of the Japanese tea ceremony. To satisfy this new market, the Chinese of the late Ming dynasty (1368 –1644) had to accommodate a taste vastly different from their own, one that treasured asymmetry and even imperfections. Trade Taste & Transformation: Jingdezhen Porcelain for Japan, 1620–1645 is the first comprehensive survey in the United States of this unique Chinese porcelain developed for export to Japan. The exhibition will include approximately 100 objects, many rarely seen outside Japan, including tiny incense boxes, flower vases, water jars and charcoal burners, as well as bowls and plates. The porcelain, known to the Japanese as kosometsuke, “old blue and white” and ko‘akae, “old colored,” was made in the famed city of Jingdezhen located near the Yangzi River in southeastern China and known for centuries as the ceramics capital of the world.

Organized by China Institute Gallery, the exhibition includes objects from the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco and three private collections, including the Butler Family Collection in the United Kingdom. The China Institute is publishing a full-color catalogue to accompany the exhibition.

Trade Taste & Transformation focuses on a particularly fascinating period in Chinese ceramic history, when dramatic upheavals in the political and social landscape forced potters to look towards foreign markets to support their works. During this period, the Ming dynasty was on the verge of collapse as peasants rose up in violent protest against corruption and heavy taxation, while Manchu armies continued their incursions from the north. These fierce conflicts required the emperors to divert funds, which might otherwise have supported porcelain production for the imperial court, to finance the imperial army. In Jingdezhen, foreign trade helped to make up for the loss of imperial patronage. As a result, a new creative freedom emerged: potters began to experiment with techniques and designs that would have been frowned upon by imperial inspectors.

Willow Hai Chang, the Director of China Institute Gallery notes: “The exhibition is a vivid example of the unique cultural exchange between China and Japan in the seventeenth century. Jingdezhen potters had a rare opportunity to create works that normally would never have been produced in China.”

“The use of asymmetry in the design itself and in the placement of decorative elements on the vessel was done to appeal to the Japanese, but would have been anathema to the Chinese,” writes Dr. Julia Curtis, a specialist in seventeenth-century Chinese porcelain and curator of the exhibition.

The objects in the exhibition are divided into five sections: The first consists of forms produced for the Japanese tea ceremony. The second section illustrates aspects of Japanese taste in the early Edo period (1615–1645), including a love of asymmetry and the use of dense textile-like patterning to form backgrounds and borders. The third section focuses on floral and faunal motifs, which show the Chinese and Japanese love of nature. The fourth section is devoted to Chinese scholar motifs, while the final section explores Daoist and Buddhist figures and symbols.

Strongly influenced by Daoist and Buddhist beliefs, the Japanese tea ceremony was a ritual way of preparing and drinking tea. It was fashionable in seventeenth-century Japan, and was considered to be an art form embracing architecture, gardening, ceramics, textiles, calligraphy, flower arrangement and cuisine. This elaborate ceremony consists of many formalities, such as specific gestures and hand positions, which must be learned and performed by heart. In fact, the study of the tea ceremony takes many years and often lasts a lifetime.

Historical records in Japan indicate that tea preparation and drinking were introduced from China by Japanese Buddhist monks, who studied at the great Chinese temples and monasteries during the Tang dynasty. Today in Japan, there are seven major schools of tea that have over ten million active members, and another fifteen or so smaller schools that count around four million practitioners in total. In addition, many more Japanese study tea preparation and history through tea ceremony clubs in high school and college. Several major private museums specialize primarily in tea utensils, and related art and national museums also have tea-related art. Despite the challenges facing modern society in Japan, many people still incorporate the tea ceremony into their daily lives.

Among the most curious objects in the exhibition that relate directly to the Japanese tea ceremony are charcoal containers made to hold ashes painstakingly arranged with a piece of burning charcoal on top. Guests used the charcoal to light the long pipes placed on a tray in the waiting area where they sat before the tea ceremony began. Other intriguing objects for the ceremony are dishes made in the shape of culturally important objects, such as the lute and fan, as well as in the shape of animals, flowers and even people.

Many of the items reflect a genuine desire for the good life. Auspicious symbols commonly used in Chinese culture were introduced to Japan and became quite popular. For example, the pine tree, plum tree and bamboo (known as the “Three Friends of Winter”) featured on several objects in the exhibition symbolize the desired characteristics of a gentleman—courage, endurance, and integrity. A set of five dishes spontaneously painted with melons growing on vines conveys a wish for fertility because of the many seeds in the fruit. The long tendrils on the plants are meant to indicate that the family will continue for many generations.

Imperfections were treasured. Among the most highly valued characteristics of the porcelain are the mushikui “moth-eaten edges,” which occur when the clay, which was often not brought up to the standards of earlier Ming reigns, shrinks more rapidly than the glaze as the porcelain cools after the firing. The glaze flaked off easily to reveal the white or gray body underneath. As Dr. Curtis writes, “So highly prized were mushikui that by the 18th century, Japanese porcelain potters faked them.” Warping testifies to the spontaneity with which the objects were made, a spirit that actually made them more endearing to seventeenth century tea aficionados.

JULY 21–22
Trade Taste & Transformation Symposium
In conjunction with the exhibition, a symposium titled “Trade Taste & Transformation” will be held at the Doris DukeTheatre. Exhibition curator and catalogue author Julia Curtis will deliver the keynote address on July 21 at 6:00 p.m. On July 22, a full-day symposium will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Speakers will include Academy Director Stephen Little, Chinese porcelain expert Christiaan Jorg, and Kaikodo Gallery owner Mary Ann Rogers. The symposium will be free to the public on a space-available basis. Registration is required. To register, call 532-8791.

Dish; Ming dynasty, ca. 1625-1635
Porcelain decorated in underglaze cobalt blue
H. 4 cm; W. 19 cm
Private Collection
Photo by Pat Cagney

Lobed Dish; Ming dynasty, ca. 1625 -1635
Porcelain decorated in underglaze cobalt blue
H. 3 cm; Diam. 21 cm
Private Collection
Photo by Pat Cagney

Bowl;  Ming dynasty, ca. 1625-1635
Porcelain decorated in underglaze cobalt blue
H. 9.5 cm; D. 10.4 cm.
Private Collection
Photo by Pat Cagney

Dish; Ming dynasty, ca. 1625-1635
Porcelain decorated in underglaze cobalt blue
H. 6.4 cm; W. 27.9 cm; D. 24.8 cm
Lent by the Asian Art Museum, Gift of Roy Leventritt
Photo by Kaz Tsuruta

Ewer
Ming dynasty, ca. 1630-1644
Porcelain decorated in underglaze cobalt blue
H. 24.4 cm; D. 20.2 cm
Private Collection
Photo by Pat Cagney