China
This jar from Gansu in north central China is dated
about 2500 bc. It is a very early wheel-thrown piece and features geometric
designs in black and reddish-brown on a buff-colored body. This piece may have
been used as a burial urn.
In Neolithic China, pottery was made by coil building
and then beating the shapes with a paddle; toward the end of the period (2nd
millennium bc) vessels were begun using the handbuilt technique, then finished
on a wheel. At Gansu, in northwestern China, vessels from the Pan-shan culture,
made from finely textured clay and fired to buff or reddish-brown, were brush
painted with mineral pigments in designs of strong S-shaped lines converging on
circles. They date from 2600 bc. The early Chinese kiln was the simple updraft
type; the fire was made below the ware, and vents in the floor allowed the
flames and heat to rise. Lung-shan pottery, from the central plains, was wheel
made. Chinese Neolithic vessels include a wide variety of shapes—tripods, ewers,
urns, cups, amphorae, and deep goblets.
These life-sized terra-cotta figures are a small part of the more than 6000 figures and horses that were made for the tomb of Emperor Qin Shihuangdi of the Chinese Qin dynasty in 210 bc. They were originally painted in bright colors. The burial mound, in the northern province of Shaanxi, was discovered in 1974.
Except for the white pottery, all the Shang types
continued in the Zhou period (1045?-256 bc). Coarse red earthenware with lead
glazes was introduced in the Warring States era (403-221 bc); this ware also
resembled bronzes. In the south, stoneware with a pale brown glaze was fashioned
into sophisticated shapes.
The discovery in 1974 of the terra-cotta army of Shihuangdi (Shih-huang-ti), the
first emperor of the Qin (Ch’in) dynasty (221-206 bc)—an imperial legion of more
than 6000 life-size soldiers and horses buried in military formation—added new
dimensions to modern knowledge of the art of the ancient Chinese potters. These
handsome idealized portraits, each with different details of dress, were modeled
from coarse gray clay, with heads and hands fired separately at high earthenware
temperatures and attached later. Afterward, the assembled, fired figures were
painted with bright mineral pigments (a procedure called cold decoration), most
of which have now flaked.
Tomb figures and objects with molded and painted decoration continued to be made
in the Han dynasty (206 bc-ad 220); these included houses, human figures, and
even stoves. Bricks sometimes were decorated with scenes of everyday animal and
human activity. Gray stoneware with a thick green glaze and reddish earthenware
were also produced.
During the Six Dynasties period (ad 220-589), celadon-glazed stoneware, a
precursor of later porcelain celadons, began to appear. (Celadons are
transparent iron-pigmented glazes fired in a reducing kiln that yield gray, pale
blue or green, or brownish-olive.) Called Yüeh (or green) ware, they were less
influenced than earlier pottery by the shapes of cast bronzes. Jars, ewers, and
dishes became more delicate of line and classical in contour, and some had
simple incised or molded ornamentation.
Korea
This ceramic vase dates from the Chosŏn
dynasty (1392-1910) of Korean history. The vase exhibits the blue and white
style characteristic of traditional Chosŏn pottery. Noted for its elaborate
decoration, Chosŏn pottery ranks as some of the most beautiful in the world.
Chinese pottery and porcelain always exerted a strong influence in Korea,
but Korean potters introduced subtle variations on Chinese models. Gray
stoneware, found in tombs, was typical of the Silla dynasty (4th to 10th century
ad ). Song-influenced celadons characterize pottery of the Koryŏ dynasty
(918-1392). Later work, although less refined, was admired for its
straightforward dignity. Koreans, in turn, introduced Korean and Chinese pottery
into Japan.
Japan
Japanese ceramic artist Itaya Hazan drew on traditional Japanese ceramics as well as Western art in creating elegant ceramic pieces with floral designs in delicate colors. Considered an outstanding Japanese ceramicist of the modern period, he lived from 1877 to 1963.
At the beginning of the Edo period, kaolin
was discovered near Arita, in northern Kyūshū, which is still a major pottery
center. This discovery enabled Japanese potters to make their own hard, pure
white porcelain. One type, Imari ware (named for its port of export), was so
popular in 17th-century Europe that even the Chinese imitated it. Its
bright-colored designs were inspired by ornate lacquerwork, screens, and
textiles. By the late Edo period (1800-1867) Imari ware declined. Kakiemon
(persimmon) porcelain, made in Arita, was a far more refined, classically shaped
ware, even when its motifs were similar to Imari ware. Both wares used overglaze
enamels. Nabeshima ware, also of high quality and similar to silk textiles in
its designs, was reserved for members of that family and their friends; only in
the Meiji era (1868-1912) was it sold commercially and imitated. The designs
were first drawn on thin tissue, and then in underglaze blue lines; the enamel
colors were added and heat-fused after the glaze firing. In eastern Japan in the
Edo period, Kutani was the porcelain center. Kutani vessels were grayish in
color because of impurities in the clay, and their designs were bolder than
those of Arita and Imari wares. Kyōto, formerly a center for enameled pottery,
became famous for its porcelain in the 19th century. In the Edo period, some
10,000 kilns were active in Japan.
Contemporary taste esteems the utilitarian works of folk potters as highly as
the export items of earlier centuries. New influences from Europe came with the
Meiji pottery, but native folk traditions were still appreciated within the
country. Potters at the old centers remain active in the 20th century, working
in the same styles as their ancestors, with the same local clays. Japan's most
famous 20th-century potter is Hamada Shoji, important not only for his pottery
but also as a forceful figure in the revival of folkcraft. Hamada favored iron
and ash glazes on stoneware, producing shades of olive green, gray, brown, and
black, and did not sign his pots (although he signed their wooden containers).
In 1955 the Japanese government declared Hamada an Intangible Treasure of the
country.
Pottery at a Glance|East Asian Pottery|Pre Colombian Pottery