It is with an immense sense of achievement that I compose the forward to our first catalogue devoted solely to the arts of the Tang Dynasty. We have attempted to assemble a collection of carefully chosen high quality objects in the hope of doing justice to the splendor and achievements of this inspiring period of Chinese art.--Foreword.

Une référence inestimable pour tout amateur d'art, de culture ou d'histoire chinoise. Il est unique en ce qu'il traite presque exclusivement des produits de poterie de la célèbre famille de fours Changsha dans la province du Hunan pendant la dynastie Tang (AD 618-907). En plus de rendre hommage aux marchandises civiles « modestes » qui ont soutenu de manière si vitale le cadre d'une civilisation, le livre comprend également des informations sur la culture de la poterie de base, le contexte historique, la poésie, la calligraphie, l'ornementation et la décoration des articles en céramique.

This volume illustrates one hundred works from a significant and wide-ranging collection of Chinese ceramics, including works of the Chinese potters' art from the Neolithic through the Yuan dynasties (approximately 4000 BC through to the 14th century), with works from the major traditions and kilns. It showcases the extraordinary achievements of Chinese potters in both earthenware and stoneware, and in ceramics made for use in this world as well as the afterlife. One of the earliest works included is a product of the late phase of the Dawenkou culture (c. 2800-2400 BC), one of China's several, co-existing Neolithic cultures characterized by distinctive pottery. Examples of funerary art from the Han and Tang dynasties are included, and finally Song wares that embody a literati aesthetic.

Early Chinese wares rival those of the Tang and the Song periods for their boldness and imagination, mastery of technique and decoration, the shaping of forms and the use of materials. This book makes extensive use of recent excavations and research in China to examine pre-Tang ceramics.