Chinese Celadon

Celadon glazes — achieving their characteristic grey-green, sea-green, or blue-green color through the reduction of iron oxide in the kiln atmosphere — were developed in China during the Han dynasty and refined over the next millennium into one of the great ceramic traditions of the world. The goal was always the same: to capture in fired clay the translucent depth and color of nephrite jade, the most revered material in Chinese culture. Longquan celadon, produced in the kilns of Zhejiang province, is the most celebrated of all Chinese celadons and the one most encountered in serious collections. At its Song dynasty peak (960–1279), Longquan produced celadon of extraordinary quality: a thick, lustrous glaze ranging from pale grey-green ('plum green,' or meiziging) to a deeper blue-green ('powder blue,' or fenyuging), applied over a white or grey stoneware body and pooling in the carved or molded decoration to create areas of deeper color. Song Longquan vases, dishes, and incense burners are among the most valuable Chinese ceramics in existence. Ming dynasty Longquan continued the tradition with somewhat heavier forms and a slightly different glaze character. Other important Chinese celadon traditions include Ru ware (the rarest and most prized Song imperial ware, produced for fewer than 20 years in the late Northern Song; only about 90 known surviving pieces), Guan ware (the Southern Song imperial kiln celadon, with characteristic crackle glaze), Jun ware (the distinctive opalescent blue-grey to lavender glaze with occasional purple splashes), and the broad 'southern celadon' tradition from Fujian and Guangdong provinces that supplied export markets from the Song through the Ming. In Texas estate sales, Chinese celadon most commonly appears as Longquan style vases, bowls, and figures in the Song and Ming manner — ranging from genuine period pieces to quality Qing dynasty and Republic period reproductions. Large blue celadon baluster vases and lidded melon jars are particularly common. Modern Chinese studio celadon, made in the Longquan tradition by contemporary kilns in Zhejiang, is of excellent quality and is collected in its own right.