A history in blue and white

Blue-and-white ceramics are decorated with cobalt pigment against a white ground, commonly beneath the glaze. Earlier examples appeared in China before the technique developed strongly at Jingdezhen during the Yuan dynasty. Improvements in materials and firing supported more vivid results. Cobalt could come from Chinese sources or be imported from the Middle East, linking the material itself to wider networks of exchange.

The David Vases in the British Museum offer a particularly clear point in this history. Their inscriptions record a dedication in 1351 by Zhang Wenjin, who presented the two vases and an incense burner to a Daoist temple. Made in Jingdezhen, the vases show that blue-and-white production was already well established during the Yuan period. Dragons, flowers and inscriptions share their surfaces; the objects carried a specific purpose as well as an elaborate design.

Chinese blue-and-white traveled to markets across Asia and beyond. From the sixteenth century, growing quantities also reached Europe. Overseas tastes influenced forms and decoration, while ceramic traditions elsewhere developed their own responses to Chinese examples.

Two colors leave plenty of room for difference. A fine outline, a broad wash, a dense border or an area left white can each change the balance of an object. When looking at a piece today, start with those choices. Follow the brushwork around its shape and notice where the eye is allowed to rest. The history becomes easier to connect with when there is something specific to look at.