Chinese Ceramics in The Chinese Porcelain Company

Spanning from ancient tomb wares to exquisite export porcelain, these highlights in Taste & Connoisseurship: The Chinese Porcelain Company trace the enduring creativity, symbolism, and craftsmanship of Chinese ceramics across thousands of years.

The history of Chinese Ceramics dates back to the Neolithic age over ten thousand years ago. The range of artworks spanning millennia is a testament to the creativity and sophistication of the culture. STAIR is pleased to present snapshots of this timeline, included in our upcoming auction Taste & Connoisseurship: The Chinese Porcelain Company on September 18 at 10am.

Lot 494: Chinese Yueyai Glaze Pottery Model of a Brothel

Lot 495: Chinese Painted Pottery Figures of Court Officials

The Tang Dynasty is considered the golden age for this type of pottery figures. Figures at this time reflected the use of new materials and styles that became available through trade along the Silk Road. These officials are depicted in fashionable, elaborate and vividly colored wide-sleeved court dress. In this period, figures had shifted away from serving the deceased in tombs into representing a family’s social standing in the earthly realm.

Porcelain models of roosters were inspired by Chinese royal traditions of maintaining birds in menageries as symbols of enlightenment and power. The exotic appeal, bold colors, and precision of Chinese porcelain far eclipsed European and British capabilities at the time. Models of birds were created for the West as the demand for Chinese porcelain increased among the upper classes, bolstered by direct trade with European markets.