Ming Dynasty Porcelain Exhibition Is On in Palace Museum

The official imperial residence of the MIng and Qing dynasties now houses an impressive collection of artwork and artifacts of the respective periods. The Palace Museum offers a permanent collection of porcelain and ceramics of the Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty which hold about 340,000 pieces. The current Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) porcelain ware collection will complement the exposition and allow visitors to get acquainted with some of the finest examples of the period porcelain considered widely the best among the similar pieces of other periods.

298 pieces of Jiajing (1522-66), Longqing (1567-72) and Wanli (1573-1620) Reigns will be presented, both from former palace's royal collections and archaeological finds in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province. It is the final edition of a series of temporary displys on Ming porcelain held during the last three years.

Jingdezhen is the major centre of porcelain production of the Ming Dynasty. Just a year after the beginning of the Ming rule, in 1369, the first kiln was built there. The production coming from Jingdezhen was used exclusively by the royals. Very soon, the city itself was dubbed the ceramic capital of China regardless its rather inconvenient and remote location. It was in Jingdezhen where the famous unglazed blue porcelain was mass-produced. The produce then was exported all around Southeast Asia, Japan and the Islamic World with Europe also getting Chinese porcelain ware from Jingdezhen via Islamic countries till the 17th century.

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