Adopting the perspective of anthropology of art and combining it with global academic insights, this book helps the readers to recognize that “history is, in great measure, the record of human activity which spreads from the local to the regional, from the regional to the global, and from the global to the universal.” Readers will learn that China was not only the first country to create porcelain, but also the first to export it to the world, both the products and its techniques. Therefore, the history of Chinese ceramics reflects the history of Chinese foreign trade on the one hand and depicts the expansion of Chinese ceramic techniques and cultures on the other. In addition to ceramics types, molds, decoration, and techniques, the book analyzes the spiritual impacts and aesthetic conceptions embodied in the utensils of daily use by the Chinese literati. Therefore, it reaches the conclusion that ideological systems and not technological systems are what bring about social revolutions. In addition, the book is richly illustrated with pictures of earthenware and finely glazed pieces from later periods.

Among the most revered and beloved artworks in China are ceramics—sculptures and vessels that have been utilized to embellish tombs, homes, and studies, to drink tea and wine, and to convey social and cultural meanings such as good wishes and religious beliefs. Since the eighth century, Chinese ceramics, particularly porcelain, have played an influential role around the world as trade introduced their beauty and surpassing craft to countless artists in Europe, America, and elsewhere. Spanning five millennia, the Metropolitan Museum’s collection of Chinese ceramics represents a great diversity of materials, shapes, and subjects. The remarkable selections presented in this volume, which include both familiar examples and unusual ones, will acquaint readers with the prodigious accomplishments of Chinese ceramicists from Neolithic times to the modern era. As with previous books in the How to Read series, How to Read Chinese Ceramics elucidates the works to encourage deeper understanding and appreciation of the meaning of individual pieces and the culture in which they were created. From exquisite jars, bowls, bottles, and dishes to the elegantly sculpted Chan Patriarch Bodhidharma and the gorgeous Vase with Flowers of the Four Seasons, How to Read Chinese Ceramics is a captivating introduction to one of the greatest artistic traditions in Asian culture.

Through a wide display of functional pottery, this reference book offers information and practical tips as well as international coverage of both the design and aesthetics of ceramics and artists's work.

This book explores the relationship between collecting Chinese ceramics, interior design and display in Britain through the eyes of collectors, designers and tastemakers during the years leading to, during and following the Second World War. The Ionides Collection of European style Chinese export porcelain forms the nucleus of this study – defined by its design hybridity – offering insights into the agency of Chinese porcelain in diverse contexts, from seventeenth-century Batavia to twentieth-century Britain, raising questions about notions of Chineseness, Britishness, and identity politics across time and space. Through the biographies of the collectors, this book highlights the role of collecting Chinese art objects, particularly porcelain, in the construction of individual and group identities. Social networks linking the Ionides to agents and dealers, auctioneers, and museum specialists bring into focus the dynamics of collecting during this period, the taste of the Ionides and their self-fashioning as collectors. The book will be of interest to scholars working in the fields of art history, history of collections, interior design, Chinese studies, and material culture studies.