- A survey of the visual imagery on Chinese ceramics - beauty and meaning
- An introduction to the visual vocabulary, the symbolic, the sign language of Chinese decorations on ceramics
- Presentation of approximately 80 masterpieces of the Keramiekmuseum princessehof, dating from the twelfth to the eighteenth centuries
- Exhibition at the Keramiekmuseum Princessehof, Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, from 24th April 2011
The decorative details on Chinese porcelain are admired especially for their striking beauty, but the symbolic language hidden within them is less well-known in the West. From the very beginning until today Chinese culture has encompassed an enormous wealth of symbolic motifs, not only as ceramic decorations but also in painting, on textiles and varnished objects. Motifs bringing good luck like colours and numbers, mythical beings, animals and plants represent the striving for cosmic harmony, health and beauty, a long life, wealth, a happy marriage and numerous male descendents. In the reading of the corresponding meaning there is a process of interaction between the viewer and the object. The intellectual playfulness and the pleasure of deciphering are traditionally an important element of the appreciation of art in China.
This publication shows around 80 masterpieces spanning 1000 years. They belong to the internationally significant collection of Chinese ceramics at the Keramiekmuseum Princessehof, the Dutch National Museum of Ceramics. The hidden meanings of these objects symbols have been explained and interpreted for the first time. An indispensable reference book that not only presents the most important and interesting Chinese porcelain objects from the Princessehof collection, but also constitutes a handbook of Chinese symbols and visual imagery.
What is the meaning of Yin and Yang, dragons, the phoenix and the Peaches of Immortality? Why is the lotus a symbol of Buddhism and a couple of mandarin ducks a wish for a happy marriage? What is the meaning of bamboo, pine and plum, the Three Friends of Winter ? This publication reveals the secrets of the symbols of good luck and the visual imagery of Chinese decorative elements by means of around 80 masterpieces of Chinese porcelain spanning 1000 years.
Contents:
The auspicious principles of the cosmos; The Dragon: Symbol of Chinese Culture; The Four divine Creatures: Dragon, phoenix, qilin and the 'Black Warrior'; The symbolism of Chinese animal; The Flowers of the four Seasons; The quest for immortality; The ideals of the Confucian society - peace, harmony and hierarchy; Freedom - The ideal of the literati.
Dr Eva Ströber is curator for Oriental ceramics at the Keramiekmuseum Princessehof, Leeuwarden, and takes care of all collections of Oriental ceramics in the Netherlands, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag and Groninger Museum. Her academic background is in Chinese history, philosophy and Oriental art history. She has been teaching at universities in Germany and Asia and has been working in several museums, from 1999 to 2008 as curator of the historical porcelain collections in Dresden, Germany.
