Provenance of the cobalt pigment used for Jingdezhen minyao blue-and-white porcelain in the early Qing dynasty

The archaeological and scientific analysis of blue‐decorated ceramics in the Tang and Song dynasties

“…First, the analytical results on the first Tang sherd showed that the MnO/CoO, Fe 2 O 3 /CoO and CoO/CuO ratios of the blue pigment were very close to those on blue sancai , which suggested that these two Tang blue‐decorated ceramics used the same cobalt material. The subsequent addition of more scientific analyses also supported this conclusion (Li et al, 2017; Lu et al, 2016; Zhang et al, 1989; Zhang & Zhang, 2009). However, a remarkable difference between Tang and Yuan cobalt materials was also recognised, which is that Tang cobalt material contained CuO, which was not found in the Yuan sherds.…”

“…Remarkably, although the lozenge-shaped motif was applied to Chinese ceramics and textiles during or earlier than the 9th century CE, lozenge-surrounded-by-palmette is a traditional Middle Eastern motif, rather than a native design in China, that was painted on many Abbasid ceramics (Figure 3c,d), glasses, and bricks (Liu, 2020). This suggests that Tang blue-and-white porcelains were designed for exotic taste (Ma, 1997;Rawson et al, 1989;Wang, 2003;Wood & Tite, 2009;Xie, 2020;Zhang, 2009aZhang, , 2009bZhang et al, 1984). Song blue-and-white sherds were decorated with chrysanthemums (Table S2) which was a unique motif of Song blue-and-white.…”

“…With the first excavation of Tang blue-and-white porcelain, Zhang et al (1984Zhang et al ( , 1986) added the scientific work on the first Tang sherd, as well as more Yuan, Ming, and Qing samples, into the comparison. First, the analytical results on the first Tang sherd showed that the MnO/CoO, Fe 2 O 3 /CoO and CoO/CuO ratios of the blue pigment were very close to those on blue sancai, which suggested that these two Tang blue-decorated ceramics used the same cobalt material.…”

“…The exception is the two samples represented by the red triangles near the horizontal coordinate in Figure 6a and near the two green squares in Figure 6b. These two blue-and-white porcelains used high-manganese cobalt ore and were produced in Zhejiang and Yunnan in China (Zhang et al, 1986). Zhu-ming blue and Zhe material, two local cobalt ores from Yunnan and Zhejiang in China, respectively, were popular in the Ming and Qing dynasties (Wen, 2012, pp.…”

“…Yangzhou was a centre for the exchange of ceramics between interior China and overseas. The scientific work found that the provenance of Tang blue-and-white porcelains excavated in Yangzhou was the Gongyi kiln (Chen et al, 1996;Cheng et al, 2016Cheng et al, , 2005Zhang et al, 1986Zhang et al, , 1989.…”