Transformations: Porcelain and European dining in the 17th and 18th centuries
Available online 20 August 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...
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The Yuan Lacuna: The ‘David’ vases and UK collectors of early Chinese blue-and-white porcelain in the early 20th century
Available online 20 August 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...
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Other markets: 19th century Jingdezhen porcelain made for Japan and Thailand
Available online 20 August 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...
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Understanding European style Chinese export porcelain through the Ionides Collection: New discoveries and future research
Available online 20 August 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...
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The Royal Dresden Porcelain Collection – Publishing on porcelain in the digital age
Available online 20 August 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...
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Sir Michael Butler and the rise of High Transitional porcelain
Available online 20 August 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...
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Understanding Chinese export ceramics through Western paintings and prints
Available online 8 August 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...
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Kaststellen and Garnitures de Cheminée: The origins of vase sets for European interiors, 1635–1695
Available online 5 August 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...
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Artists painting in cobalt blue. Yuan porcelain from the collection of Sir Joseph Hotung
Available online 5 August 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...
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Global ambitions in 17th century Britain: Trade, colonization and Chinese porcelain
Available online 25 July 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...
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Creating a database of dated Chinese porcelain from 1550 to 1750
Available online 22 July 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...
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Precious Beyond Measure. A History of Korean Ceramics by Beth McKillop & Jane Portal. Reaktion Books, London, 2024. 272 pages, ISBN 978-1789148671
Available online 22 July 2025
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The Temasek Wreck ceramics cargo: Yuan blue-and-white porcelain, celadon and other ceramics found in Singapore waters
Available online 18 July 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...
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