Lung-ch'uan Celadon
960-1279
The celadon of Lung-ch'uan is famous as perhaps the most refined greenware of Sung. Manufactured at several sites in southwestern Chekiang province in south China, it evolved as a beautiful blue-green tactile glaze on a fine, durable porcelain body. Lung-ch'uan vessels produced during Northern Sung (960-1127) were typically decorated with a carved or combed decoration under a green glaze. This inheritance was carried to a superb realization during the Southern Sung (1127-1279) however when the court moved to Hangchou. With court patronage, Lung-ch'uan potters rapidly refined their vessel shapes and lime-alkali glazes. The finest of these celadons had simple, elegant, well-proportioned shapes covered in a wide range of thick lustrous blue-green glazes that resembled polished jade. Several of these shapes were based on ancient bronzes that were patronized by the scholar class as well as the court. Southern Sung Lung-ch'uang glazes were highly revered and imitated by the Ch'ing court during the 18th century. |