A dialogue in glaze and glass

Two exhibitions opening at the same time at the Shanghai Jiushi Art Museum on July 18 present a dialogue of materials between glass and porcelain, as well as the cultures of China and Italy.

The exhibition Worlds Within a Glaze: Ming and Qing Monochromes from the Shanghai Museum, on display in the third-floor gallery of the museum until Feb 14, 2027, marks the first collaboration between Jiushi Art Museum and Shanghai Museum.

Fifty pieces of exquisite monochrome glazed porcelain dating from the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, have been carefully selected for the exhibition from the collection of Shanghai Museum, says Chu Xiaobo, director of Shanghai Museum. They are displayed in the century-old Western-style McBain Building located on the Bund by the Huangpu River.

"We warmly invite you to explore the exhibition, where the purity of the glaze colors conveys the consummate aesthetics of ancient China, as well as the multi-millennial cultural heritage and values behind them," Chu said at the opening ceremony on July 20.

Monochrome glazed porcelain can be traced back to the proto-green glazed porcelain of the Shang (c.16th century-11th century BC) and Zhou (c.11th century-256 BC) dynasties. It flourished during the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province had built on the achievements of previous ages, creating a full range of monochrome glazed porcelain — some inspired by antiquity, others newly devised — forming a remarkable spectrum of ceramic art.

Forged over millennia, monochrome glazed porcelain stands as the apex of ancient Chinese ceramic art, according to Peng Tao, head of the ceramic research department at Shanghai Museum and curator of the exhibition. Monochromes eschew painted motifs and elaborate carving, relying solely on the color of the glaze and the form of the vessel to convey boundless beauty through extreme simplicity.

The exhibition is designed in five sections, each featuring one color: white, yellow, blue, red and celadon (soft, pale green). These rich colors were achieved thanks to the mastery of fire, clay, and metals by ancient artisans, Peng says. When metals such as iron, copper and cobalt are mixed into the glaze slip, they undergo transformation under the intense heat inside the kiln and give rise to a vast variety of colors. That's how the resplendent beauty of monochrome glazed porcelain was created, he explains.

On the other hand, the cultural connotations of monochrome glazed porcelain extend far beyond mere aesthetics. In ancient China, colors were used to indicate social ranks. This philosophy significantly influenced the functions of the porcelain.

During the Ming Dynasty, imperial decrees required all ritual vessels to be made of porcelain and prescribed specific glaze colors at different state altars. In this context, glaze colors provided more than just visual pleasure; they represented ritual norms, beliefs, and the implicit social order.

"One of the things that I am happy about with this exhibition is that it has natural sunlight, which our museum can't provide," Peng says. "When looking at porcelain and its colors, the best light is natural light. If you view it under other lighting, the colors can change a little."