Yixing stoneware customised for the West: An analysis of a rare Yixing zisha stoneware mustard pot in the Anders Collection, The Netherlands
Available online 5 December 2025
Yixing stoneware is an intricate material culture originating from the Yixing area in Jiangsu province, southeast China. Thanks to its unique clay resources and specialised shaping techniques, Yixing...
Chinese porcelain from the collection of Queen Elisabeth Farnese Queen of Spain (r. 1714–1746)
Available online 5 December 2025
Chinese porcelain epitomizes the scientific and technological achievements of Chinese civilization, remaining unrivalled in refinement until much of Europe mastered porcelain production in the mid-eighteenth...
Hizen porcelain exported to Americas
Available online 4 December 2025
At the end of the 16th century, Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded the Korean Peninsula and brought many Korean potters back to Japan. Initially, they produced stoneware, but in the early 17th century, they...
Porcelain figures for Empress Chabi of Khubilai Khan: An attempt to define the image and clarify the dating
Available online 3 December 2025
Khubilai Khan (r. 1271–1294) was the first emperor of the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) in China. Early in 1253 he recognized Tibetan Buddhism as the official state religion and from that time Tibetan influence...
The discovery of a pair of early Ming dynasty blue-and-white candlesticks of the Yongle period inspired by Islamic metal prototypes
Available online 3 December 2025
Until five years ago, there were less than a dozen recorded examples of Yongle (1403–1424) and Xuande (1426–1435) faceted candlesticks in public and private collections. The odds that a pair would exist...
Chinese ceramics in Lisbon — The Medeiros e Almeida Museum in context
Available online 3 December 2025
António de Medeiros e Almeida (1895–1986), a prominent Portuguese entrepreneur and philanthropist, devoted much of his life to assembling an outstanding collection of decorative arts, today preserved...
Radiant grandeur: Gold and silver decoration on ceramics in the Song and Yuan dynasties
Available online 11 October 2025
Gold and silver decoration on early Chinese ceramics has long been a mysterious chapter in the study of ancient Chinese ceramics given the challenge imposed by mere scarcity of such examples, material...
The Temasek Wreck ceramics cargo: Yuan blue-and-white porcelain, celadon and other ceramics found in Singapore waters
June 2025
A maritime archaeological excavation recently carried out in stages over a four-year period resulted in the recovery of approximately 3.5 tonnes of ceramic shards, along with several intact or nearly...
Creating a database of dated Chinese porcelain from 1550 to 1750
June 2025
From the vast quantities of Chinese porcelain produced between 1550 to 1750, a very limited number are inscribed with dates which provide the vital building blocks for establishing a chronology. This...
Global ambitions in 17th century Britain: Trade, colonization and Chinese porcelain
June 2025
In the first decade of the 17th century, the English crown had its sights set in two directions: eastward towards trade with Asia and westward towards colonization. To compete in the European global...
Kaststellen and Garnitures de Cheminée: The origins of vase sets for European interiors, 1635–1695
June 2025
Five-piece porcelain garnitures or vase sets, comprising three jars and two beaker-vases with matching decoration, manufactured in Jingdezhen, appeared almost immediately in Europe after the Chinese...
Artists painting in cobalt blue. Yuan porcelain from the collection of Sir Joseph Hotung
June 2025
The small but exceptional collection of early Chinese blue-and-white porcelains assembled by the renowned collector and patron Sir Joseph Hotung 何鸿卿爵士 (1930–2021), has recently been donated to the British...
Understanding Chinese export ceramics through Western paintings and prints
June 2025
Scholars have long turned to traditional sources when researching Chinese export porcelain: The porcelain itself, extant historic collections, archaeological evidence, and primary documents. Occasionally...
Transformations: Porcelain and European dining in the 17th and 18th centuries
June 2025
Due to its plasticity and many other outstanding properties, porcelain is today one of the most widely used materials, and porcelain products are ubiquitous, while one of the most long-standing and...
The Yuan Lacuna: The ‘David’ vases and UK collectors of early Chinese blue-and-white porcelain in the early 20th century
June 2025
In 1929, R. L. Hobson (1872–1941), Keeper of Oriental Antiquities at the British Museum, was the first to publish and formally acknowledge the significance of the pair of Yuan blue-and-white temple...
Other markets: 19th century Jingdezhen porcelain made for Japan and Thailand
June 2025
With its singular focus on blue-and-white, the collection formed by Rodney Frelinghuysen over almost five decades ventures beyond the classic categories of Chinese export porcelain to explore wares...
Understanding European style Chinese export porcelain through the Ionides Collection: New discoveries and future research
June 2025
Once described as ‘the most comprehensive collection of its kind ever made’, the Ionides Collection of European style Chinese export porcelain remained largely unknown until recent research revealed...
The Royal Dresden Porcelain Collection – Publishing on porcelain in the digital age
June 2025
In early 2024, the national and international awarded digital platform The Royal Dresden Porcelain Collection was launched. It encompasses five independent catalogues which allow the user to freely...
Sir Michael Butler and the rise of High Transitional porcelain
June 2025
This article discusses a few examples of porcelains of extraordinarily high-quality produced during the reign of Emperor Chongzhen (1628–44), the last ruler of the Ming dynasty. They were made at private...
