In ancient China people were very specific about the value of scents in enhancing the quality of their living environment. Flowers placed in decorative vessels were set by an open window. Fresh breezes carried the fragrant scents throughout the room imbuing it with the essence of jasmine or laurel. These elegant scent vessels were known as Hua-hsun. No matter what material they were made of, whether bamboo, carved jade, or porcelain, each had its own distinctive style and beauty.
Pictured is an example of a Ming dynasty porcelain-glazed scent vessel, Hsuan-te-yao (kiln fired) hua-hsun. It stands 39.9 centimeters high and has an inner circumference of 57.8 centimeters. Not only did this vessel serve to freshen the household library, it was an exquisite piece of art as well.
Porcelain has long held a place of importance in Chinese art. However, prior to the Ming dynasty, the glazing process had been limited to using single colors. It was during the Ming dynasty that new advancements in the glazing process ushered in a new age of porcelain work to China. The Ch'ing-hua style of porcelain (of which the aforementioned hua-hsun is an example), introduced the use of colored glazes to porcelain production. This was a major turning point in the field of porcelain work.
Glazes before the Ming dynasty were usually translucent giving the finished piece a polished effect. Porcelain makers during the Ming dynasty began to experiment with the glazing process. Through the use of an oxidizing agent the glaze was able to assume colored forms. This colored base glaze was applied to the piece and then fired in the kiln. The resulting pieces were beautiful multi-colored porcelains. Whereas the pieces produced previously had only a single color effect, the Ch'ing-hua pieces took on new dimensions through various color glazes. There was as well a new maturity in the designs that embellished the pieces.
According to legend, the famous Ming dynasty navigator Cheng He, on one of his forays abroad, returned to China with a new material which the Chinese called su-ma-li-ch'ing. This was used by the porcelain artisans in the glazing process. When mixed with the glaze and painted on the pre-fired piece, the resulting porcelain was radically different than before. The pieces had a muted, deeper finish. Like water droplets on fabric, they produced a blotchy, uneven distribution of tone. These porcelains were called Shen-ch'ing and San-yun.
The Hsuan-te-hua-hsun and other porcelain works of the Ch'ing-hua style represent a breakthrough in Chinese porcelain art. A trip to the National Palace Museum will give the interested viewer a worthwhile introduction to these master-pieces of Ming dynasty porcelain.
(Gerald Hatherly)
