Masterpieces of Chinese Monochrome Porcelain (8th–18th century) Displays in Paris, France

The exhibition At the Heart of Color: Masterpieces of Chinese Monochrome Porcelain (8th–18th century) opened on June 11 at the National Museum of Asian Arts-Guimet (Guimet Museum) in Paris.

The exhibition features 250 exquisite artifacts from the Zhuyuetang collection of Richard Kan (Hong Kong) and the collections of the Guimet Museum. They illustrate the enduring history of Chinese porcelain and glazes, and the Chinese pursuit of simplicity and purity of colors over the past few centuries. This incessant quest has given birth to unique pieces of aesthetic finesse, as highlighted by the exhibition.

President of the Guimet Museum, Yannick Lintz, believes that these exquisite porcelains embody the spirit of Chinese craftsmanship for perfection and excellence. Coated in a single color, monochrome porcelain is the highest expression of the technical perfection of Chinese workshops, which requires both the purity of materials and absolute mastery of firing techniques. Despite the reduced number of pigments that can withstand firing at very high temperatures, Chinese artisans continued to strive for new colors in order to meet the demand for perfection in ritual ceremonies.

The exhibition is organized into nine sections based on color: white, celadon, green and turquoise, blue, black and purple, red, yellow, brown, imitation of the colors of nature, and the rainbow. These sections evoke the cultural and symbolic connotations linked to each color, and the production techniques to create these colors.

In addition to these ceramic masterpieces, a rare 7-meter-long illustrated album dating from the 18th century, on loan from the Rennes Museum of Fine Arts, traces the process of porcelain production at China’s Jingdezhen kilns. Since the introduction of Chinese porcelain to Europe in the 14th century, their lustrous glazes and exquisite craftsmanship have captivated European courts, which has led to the formation and development of European porcelain production.

The exhibition is open until September 16.