Perhaps made for the Yuan court, this jar exemplifies the most powerful work of the Jingdezhen kilns. The imposing shape and the decoration of two vigorous dragons amid clouds became standard elements in the imperial style from the Yuan dynasty onward.

As polychrome decoration gained widespread popularity during the reign of the Jiajing emperor (1522-1566), advances in the technique were made. Potters learned to mix finely ground minerals—such as iron, copper, and cobalt—to obtain subdued color hues. Color themes were broadened and enriched from those of previous eras.

This jar illustrates a method of polychrome decoration in which both painting and firing occurred twice, before the piece was glazed and after an initial firing. Underglaze blue was used together with overglaze pigments as color shading to complete the design. The pictorial scene on the covered jar presents an exuberant theme with seven tones in overall harmony. That the potter sought out new color hues is evident in the attenuated greens and overlapping oranges and reds. Here the potter mastered the use of tone, clay, and design.

The style of making jian blackware, popularized in Fujian in southeastern China during the Song dynasty, was followed by many kilns for centuries. Northern imitations of the jian hare’s-fur glaze produced various effects, some very close to the original. But as the jian technique fell into decline, the refined streaks associated with hare’s-fur glaze, which were achieved by closely controlling the metallic content of the glaze and the firing temperature in the kiln, could not be easily reproduced. Yuan dynasty potters simply painted stripes inside the bowl, as seen in this piece.

This piece is made of five large sections, which fit precisely to one another. In addition, individual sections, such as the lotus pedestal, are made up of multiple pieces that were assembled prior to firing. Such elaborate sculptures were in demand during the late Ming dynasty, as many Chinese turned to Buddhism to seek refuge from political and economic turmoil.

This large ensemble is the product of a ceramics industry in northern China that began producing sculpture more than a thousand years ago. By the time this piece was produced, about five or six hundred years later, the technology was sufficiently developed that artisans could produce large and complex works.

The representation of a girl on a Jin dynasty pillow, rare in contrast to the frequent representations of boys, suggests a piece made for female use. This finely sculpted pillow features a young girl, her expression well detailed, accompanied by chrysanthemum and plum blossoms.

Creatures resembling goats and ibexes form the principal decoration of this large, stemmed drinking cup. The ibex’s most prominent attribute is a pair of impossibly long horns that extend to the cup’s rim. The goat’s horns curl backwards and are counterbalanced by the downward pull of a long beard. The goats have been compared to the wild bezoar goats of the Iranian highlands. Their bodies are taut and agile, and with their erect heads these animals seem ready for action.

This large-footed cup was made during a peak period of prehistoric pottery production in Persia in the fourth millennium BCE. During this time potters included animal designs more frequently than previously and combined them creatively with geometric motifs on a range of vessel shapes, including jars, bowls, and footed cups. This drinking cup, which was likely used for social occasions, resembles similar ones excavated at Tepe Sialk near Kashan, a western Iranian city famous for its ceramics production much later during the medieval Islamic period. Tepe Sialk is an important site for archaeologists, since it was occupied for several millennia (from the sixth through the first millennia BCE). Cups from Tepe Sialk usually depict animals in silhouette and geometric frames. The animals are either stacked vertically or arranged in a row along a ground line, as seen here. Simple geometric designs, like the cross-hatched columns here, frame the animal motifs and direct the viewer’s eye toward them. The potter has concentrated the panel-styled decoration on the straight-walled upper part of the cup, while leaving the slightly convex lower part undecorated. The concave foot has stippled motifs, leading the eye upward and also counterbalancing the fullness of the decoration above.

The amalgamation of Daoism and Buddhism among common believers is easily seen in this piece. The main seated figure is that of the Zhenwu, who is shown with his symbolic accompaniments: a tortoise, a curled snake, and a pair of dragons. Above him, inside a small rooftop section, is a seated Buddha. This piece is also significant for its representation of Ming dynasty architecture

VOC is the monogram for the Dutch East India Company, whose Dutch name is Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie. This plate’s rim is divided into panels depicting peonies and orchids. Inspired by contemporary or earlier Chinese export wares, Japanese potters decorated many of their plates with divided rims and sometimes with the monogram VOC.

Pouring vessels of this type were used for tea, wine, or other liquids. The elaborately carved decoration and olive green glaze of this example indicate it was made at the Yaozhou kilns in Shaanxi province.

With its remarkably well-executed figure of a boy and a lotus leaf, this pillow is one of the most refined of its type. During the Song dynasty such pillows were made in vast quantities in a wide variety of shapes, for use both in sleeping and in burials. While they may look miserable to sleep on, it is said that these pillows are actually quite comfortable once a person is used to them. The gentle curve and the height were designed to be perfect for supporting the head. Certainly these pillows would have been ideal for preserving the elaborate coiffeurs popular among women at the Song court.