Chinese Porcelain Collection
Are there any "Imperial porcelain" made today then? After meeting the Director Qin Xilin at the Jiangxi Province Ceramics Research Institute I am inclined to say yes - if you by "imperial" means an all out effort to go after the highest possibly quality.
I'm sorry to say, Imperial of older days most often meant the meticulously following of given directions, with the potters and painters personal artistic ambitions kept down to a minimum.
In this respect I welcome the newly reawakened artistic ambitions of the Chinese potter, echoing a tradition that made the Chinese porcelain to the best in the world.
Jan-Erik Nilsson
Jingdezhen 1991 and 1992
Text & Photos © Jan-Erik Nilsson, 1991, 1992, 2010
During 1991 and 1992 I had the privilege to visit the city of Jingdezhen and its surroundings as a participant in a small research delegation consisiting of Professor Bo Gyllensvärd, former head and founder of The Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities in Stockholm, two of the curators of Ulricehamn Museum of Oriental Art and the Carl Kempe Collection, and myself. All pictures illustrating this article are taken by me during those visits.