The History of Blue & White Porcelain

The history of blue and white porcelain starts more than 3,000 years ago when the first porcelains appeared in China. It was during the Zhou dynasty (1027 – 771 BC) that Chinese craftsmen built the first kilns that could reach high enough temperatures to create what we now call porcelain.

During the Tang dynasty (618 – 907) porcelain went into mass production but it took several hundred years more for the advent of the now classic blue and white styling. The earliest examples of blue and white porcelain are attributed to the Yuan dynasty (1271 – 1368). Artisans experimenting with different materials, such as iron, copper and cobalt, found that each created different colors when porcelains were fired in the kiln. The cobalt allowed for a vibrant blue color that gave a stark contrast to the white porcelain body and brought out stunning detail. Credit is given to the city of Jingdezhen, sometimes called China’s porcelain capital, for this important development.

Though at start of the Ming dynasty (1369 – 1644) trade outside China was forbidden, by the late 16^th century blue and white porcelain had become a standard and was wildly popular in Europe. Trade ships waited for days in Chinese ports and brought back hundreds of thousands of blue and white porcelain items at a time. To this day collectors head to the Netherlands to find the finest examples of Ming era blue and white porcelain. In the 17^th century the Dutch East India Company held a near monopoly on the sought after commodity.

The blue and white porcelain being made today throughout China has changed very little from the days of Ming emperor Kangxi. The biggest modern advancement is gas fired kilns and a “decaling” technique that eliminates the labor-intensive hand painting. Reorient hand picks our porcelain wares on our own buying trips to China. We work with smaller kilns that hand paint their blue and white porcelains, capturing the charm and tradition of this time honored art.

If you have any questions about any of our Chinese blue and white porcelain please give us call, send us an email or stop in the store. We are always happy to share our experience and expertise.