S.A.M.

Jingdezhen - A well-known Chinese Porcelain City in Jiangxi (江西) province, China.

Jingdezhen has been central to porcelain production in China since at least the early Han (汉) Dynasty.

During the long years of development of porcelain production. Jingdezhen has trained skilled craftsmen and artists who have passed their skill from one generation to the next, and have worked hard to help develop porcelain art. They have mastered porcelain materials and technology and very rich vocabulary of porcelain culture and art. What's more , they created famous rate artistic treasures representing the Chinese and the oriental artistic style, and have made great contributions to the civilization of the mankind and the development of the world culture. Most of the National Master-pieces and Museum pieces created here have been being collected in the national museum and by collectors all over the world.

History of Chinese Porcelain

It is well known that China is the country which has the longest porcelain-producing history.

Chinese porcelain originated from the Shang Dynasty (B.C.16 Century--C B.C.1066)and became matured in Eastern Han (A.D.25-- A.D.220).

Chinese porcelain was characterized for its high temperature glaze, especially the iron contained Celadon.

In Tang Dynasty (A.D.618--A.D.907), porcelain was highly developed. Both the rich and poor were able to afford porcelain. Porcelain were found everywhere, tea set, dinnerware, drink ware, stationary, toy, musical instrument, ornament, etc. Also, at that time, porcelains were made in more designs, mixing traditional designs with different cultures from other territories.

In Song Dynasty (A.D.960--A.D.1279), porcelains were most developed. Song porcelains were characterized for its simple color and elegant appearance. Artists pursued the harmony of spirit, interests, rhyme, and taste.

In Yuan Dynasty (A.D.1279--A.D.1368), porcelains of Jindezhen were developed greatly. Improved the quality of porcelain from soft quality to hard one, craftsmen raised the temperature of kiln and reduced distortion. So there were many large-scaled works were created at that time.

In Ming and Qing Dynasty, Chinese porcelains were developed into more colors. They were always over elaborate and more and more popularized. In this period, the development of porcelain could be regarded as a conclusion of the development of Chinese porcelains in the past 4000 years.