JizhouwareisdistinguishedbytheunassumingairandaestheticsoftheethnicHanpeople.Theirmostpopulardesignsincludealeafpatternandapapercuttingpattern.
Thebest-preservedancientkilnsinChina,the1200year-oldJizhoukilnswerefirstbuiltinthemidtolateTangDynasty(618-907),thrivedintheSongDynastyandbegantodeclineattheendoftheYuanDynasty(1271-1368).Becausetheywereprivatelyowned,theyhadmoreautonomyoverthekindsofceramicstheywishedtoproduce.TheJizhoukilnsalsohadanenormousamountofoutput.Mostoftheirprod-uctsweremadefordailyuse,suchasbowls,jars,kettles,incenseburners,andpillows.Theglazeusedfordifferentwarescameinavarietyofcolorsandshades,includingceladon,green,white,andblack.Someitemsalsobearpaintedpatterns.Thisgreatvarietyinfunction,shape,color,anddesign,combinedwithalargeproductionoutputandjauntyartisticstyle,givesJizhouwareaspecialpositioninthehistoryofChineseceramics.
Jizhoukilnswidelyborrowedtechnologyfrompeerstotakeonalifeoftheirown.Forinstance,theyadoptedthestackingmethodinthefiringprocessinventedbythekilnsinDingzhou,whichsignificantlyincreasedoutput.TheyalsolearnedhowtooverglazeandunderglazecolorsfromthekilnsinCizhou,glazetransmutationtechniquesfromkilnsinJuntai,aswellasthe鈥渉are鈥檚fur鈥漚nd鈥減artridgefeather鈥漝esignsfromkilnsinJian鈥檃n.ThisinclusivenessandresultingrichnesshadalastingimpactontheevolutionofChina鈥檚ceramictechnologies.
Theblack-glazeJizhouwareisalsocalledTianmu,orHeavenlyEyeware.Thematerialsusedtomakeitsglazewereinexpensive,butwererenderedtoproducekaleidoscopiceffectsusinguniquetechniques.TheTianmuwarecombinesfunctionalityandartistry,characteristicoftheartofthemasses.
AsignaturedesignoftheTianmuwareisleafappliqu茅,whichcomesintheformsofahalfleaf,awholeleaf,ortwotothreeoverlappedleaves.Toproducethiseffect,theleafissoakedinwateruntilonlytheskeletalisleft.Itisthenplacedonthesurfaceoftheceramicitem,alreadyglazedinblack,beforebeingcoveredinatranslucentyellowglazeandfiredinthekiln.Theresultisasepia-huedlace-workofveinsagainstadarkbackdrop.
ThesurfaceofJizhouwareisnotassmoothcomparedtomanyotherporcelainitems,butshowsabeautifulsheeninwater.Theeffectisenhancedonthepitch-blackTianmuware,whoseveinmarksonthebottomcreateanillusionoffallenleavesafterarainshowerwhenthevesselisfilledwithtea.ThisiswhatmakesJizhouwareunparalleledamongceramicChineseteaware.
Jizhoupottersalsoincorporatedpaper-cuttingartintotheircreations,whichwaswidelypopularamongthepublic.SomeJizhouwaresaredecoratedwithpaintingsaboutlocallife,whicharenowvaluablerecordsofthesocialactivitiesandcustomsfrom1,000yearsago.
AsamajorsectofChineseceramics,JizhouwarehasbeenexportedtoEuropeandtheMiddleEastsinceancienttimes,andwaslovedbylocalaristocrats,boostingbothinternationaltradeandculturalexchanges.C
SONGXIAOYANisacourseplannerofantiquechinawareattheAncientPorcelainCourtyardMuseum.Leaf-PatternedJizhouWareHousedintheJiangxiProvincialMuseum,thisblack-glazedteawareisbelievedtobefromtheearlystageproductionofTianmuwaresofsimilardesign,andisthereforeofgreatvalue.JizhouBowlwithPaper-CutPrunusDesign
AmongthecollectionintheBeijingPalaceMuseum,thispieceisemblazonedwithPrunusflowersonabackdropofthe鈥渉are鈥檚fur鈥漰atterninside.Theoutersurfacemimicsatortoiseshell.Theopeningisbroad,andtaperssteeplytoanarrowbottom,atypicalshapeofSongchinaware.JizhouCoveredJarwithDeerPainting
AnexhibitattheJiangxiProvincialMuseum,thisitemwaspaintedwithpigmentcontainingirononabeigesurfacebeforeatransparentglazewasapplied.Afterfiring,thepigmenttookonatancolor.ThepaintingonitdisplaysadeercarryingaGanoderma,asymboloflongevityinChineseculture.