Room 38 | China from AD 800 gallery
Explore key developments in the history and culture of China, from the arts and crafts of the Song Dynasty up to the present day.
Seventeenth-Century Chinese Porcelain from the Reitlinger Collection
Between 1620 and 1680 new styles of porcelain were made in China. The country was in turmoil as the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) came to an end and the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) was established. Imperial patronage of the porcelain kilns at Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province all but ceased and new markets were developed. The blue-and-white and enamel-decorated wares made for sale to Japan and Europe, and within China, used new shapes and new pictorial styles. Many were decorated with scenes from popular theatre and novels.
The porcelains were highly prized in Europe at the time, especially by Queen Mary (reigned 1689-1694), who had a large collection first in the Netherlands and later at Kensington Palace. In the 20th century many English collectors preferred Imperial wares of much earlier periods. Gerald Reitlinger was an exception. His vast ceramic collection included not only fine porcelains as displayed in this case but also Japanese, Islamic and European wares.
Portrait of Gerald Reitlinger by (John) Christopher Wood, 1926 (Museum number: WA1978.51).
Blue-and-white jar and lid with scholars on a terrace (EA1978.2093)
Blue-and-white brush pot with demons in a river (EA1978.2056)
Blue-and-white brush pot with cracked-ice decoration (EA1978.2092)
Blue-and-white jar with warrior on horseback (EA1978.1987)
Blue-and-white jar with mythical figures in a landscape (EA1978.2010)
Dish with figures from The Water Margin (EA1978.1256)
Blue-and-white brush pot with butterfly and bird on a branch (EA1978.940)
Blue-and-white brush pot with kylin, or horned creature, and phoenix (EA1978.2034)
Blue-and-white dish with horse amid waves, and Prunus blossoms (EA1978.907)
Blue-and-white vase with official and attendants (EA1978.2032)
Blue-and-white vase with figures and deer in a landscape (EA1978.868)
Blue-and-white bowl with figure lying beneath a tree (EA1978.2013)
Blue-and-white jar and lid with couple in a garden (EA1978.2006)
Blue-and-white jar with pomegranates and flowers (EA1978.953)
Blue-and-white tankard with European silver mounts (EA1978.803)
Blue-and-white tankard with European silver mounts (EA1978.796)
Blue-and-white dish with elephant (EA1978.818)
Blue-and-white ewer with floral and geometric decoration (EA1978.1935)
Blue-and-white censer with phoenixes (EA1978.2014)
Blue-and-white vase with plants in containers (EA1978.2011)
Dish with seated figure reading a book (EA1978.1155)
Blue-and-white jar and lid with immortal floating above a tree trunk (EA1978.800)
Blue-and-white dish with seated musician playing a lute (EA1978.912)
Blue-and-white vase with figures in a landscape (EA1978.1999)
Blue-and-white dish with prawns (EA1978.2022)
Blue-and-white basin with mythical figure and tiger (EA1978.968)
Blue-and-white dish with flowering peach branches (EA1978.2019)
Dish in the form of a peach with willow, butterfly, and peaches (EA1978.1061)
Blue-and-white dish with Jade Rabbit (EA1978.840)
Blue-and-white bowl with crane and flowering branches (EA1978.2061)
Hexagonal dish with hydrangea and cicada (EA1978.1151)
Blue-and-white dish with leaf and rock (EA1978.929)
Dish with two cockerels and a butterfly (EA1978.1050)
Box and lid with 'Hundred Boys' decoration (EA1978.1067)
Blue-and-white vase with figures of immortals (EA1978.135)
Blue-and-white beaker vase with warriors in a landscape (EA1978.2035)
Beaker vase with figures in a garden (EA1978.1179)
Blue-and-white vase with cloudy landscape (EA1978.2059)
Blue-and-white vase with lovers in a landscape (EA1978.2060)
Blue-and-white jar and lid with birds, rocks, and plants (EA1978.964.a)
Blue-and-white jar and lid with birds, rocks, and plants (EA1978.964.b)
Blue-and-white brush pot with kylin, or horned creature (EA1978.2072)
Blue-and-white dish with basket of flowers (EA1978.1956)
Blue-and-white tankard with Swedish silver mounts (EA1978.802)
Blue-and-white vase with landscape (EA1978.830)
Blue-and-white vase with figure contemplating the landscape (EA1978.2029)
Blue-and-white vase with figures on a balcony (EA1978.1996)
Blue-and-white baluster vase with figures in a landscape (EA1978.2070)
Blue-and-white hexagonal vase in double-gourd form (EA1978.921)
Blue-and-white jar with birds, rocks, and flowering branches (EA1978.2094)
Vase with birds, flowers, and rocks (EA1978.1222)
Blue-and-white plate with a crane (EA1978.170)
Bowl with horses amid waves (EA1978.1371)
Stem cup with horses amid waves (EA1978.1114)
Jar with vines and tree shrews (EA1978.989)
Blue-and-white dish with mounted warriors (EA1978.2066)
Beaker vase with figures in a landscape (EA1978.1807)
Blue-and-white vase with figures in a mountainous landscape (EA1978.2057)
Beaker vase with mounted warrior and attendants (EA1978.1223)
Blue-and-white jar with kylin, or horned creature, and phoenix (EA1978.900)
Jar with flowers and insects (EA1978.1066)
Blue-and-white jar with figures in a snowy landscape (EA1978.943)
Blue-and-white jar and lid with figures in a landscape (EA1978.946)
Blue-and-white vase with scholars in a landscape (EA1978.863)
Blue-and-white jar with figures in a landscape (EA1978.2007)
Jar with figure and a horse in a landscape (EA1978.1493)
Dish with flowers and butterflies (EA1978.1259)
Dish with plant, hen, and six chicks (EA1978.1052)
Blue-and-white winepot surmounted by kylin, or horned creature (EA1978.1941)
Blue-and-white ewer with floral decoration (EA1978.2026)
Blue-and-white stem cup with pomegranates and bamboo (EA1978.1171)
Blue-and-white dish with flowers and geometric decoration (EA1978.810)
Blue-and-white dish with Prunus spray (EA1978.841)
Blue-and-white censer bowl with a kylin, or horned creature (EA1978.1842)
Blue-and-white bowl with net decoration (EA1978.914)
Blue-and-white bowl with figures playing chequers (EA1978.1163)
Blue-and-white jar with duck and heron (EA1978.889)
Blue-and-white jar with figure and deer in a landscape (EA1978.2028)
Blue-and-white jar with floral decoration (EA1978.805)
Blue-and-white dish with horses amid waves (EA1978.835)
Blue-and-white box and lid with moon goddess Chang E (EA1978.985)
Box and lid with fruit decoration (EA1978.1118)
Dish with fruit and poem (EA1978.1008)
Dish with female immortal floating on a cloud (EA1978.1019)
Dish with swallows flying over bamboo (EA1978.1204)
Blue-and-white jar with animals eating fruit (EA1978.952)
Blue-and-white box and lid with lotus flowers, pomegranates, and chrysanthemums (EA1978.1166)
Blue-and-white dish with five horses and a poem (EA1978.2037)
Blue-and-white dish with animals amid waves (EA1978.831)
Blue-and-white mustard pot with figure and a horse (EA1978.822)
Blue-and-white vase with lovers in a landscape (EA1978.2060)
Blue-and-white vase with figures in a landscape (EA1978.2058)
Beaker vase with flowers and figures in boats (EA1978.1903)
Vase with figures in a landscape (EA1978.1906)
See also
Notice
Objects may have since been removed or replaced from a gallery. Click into an individual object record to confirm whether or not an object is currently on display. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis, so contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular Eastern Art object.
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