Color and motifs
Despite of its short reign the Yuan government put extra focus on porcelain making. In 1278, “Fuliang
Porcelain Bureau” was established in Jingdezhen Kiln, which oversaw the porcelain industry. This created a
favorable condition for the development and prosperity of Jingdezhen Wares. Like other porcelain styles, blue
and white from Yuan Dynasty often had large sizes and heavy bodies, exemplified by those jars and meiping
vases. Because of the blue and white porcelain, brush painting directly on clay body had finally become one of
the most important techniques for porcelain decoration. Brush painting is a flexible way to easily create
various patterns and designs. Typical motifs from this period included plants, animals and sundry-treasure
(zabao) patterns. What also popular were subjects concerning historical events and peoples, which had
important influence to figure painting in Ming and Qing dynasties. Although often desirable in a full layout
and in multiple layers, the motifs are always blended into one integral whole with unconstrained beauty.
Chinese blue and white porcelain entered into its golden period during the Yongle (1403-1424) and Xuande
(1426-1435) reigns in early Ming Dynasty. It was renowned for its exquisite glaze, rich color of blue,
numerous designs and elegant motifs. Application of the glaze materials imported from Persian created unique
color of blue often dotted with naturally formed black blue or silver gray spots. This special effect, considered