Lives of objects
The leys jar: a name of refuse, kilns of the elite
· 渣斗 , zhā dǒu
Beneath a name of refuse, a word that once meant luxury.
The Journal
A review in three columns, fragment by fragment.
Techniques, motifs, lives of objects — each fragment is a long-form read on Chinese ceramics and mosaics, read from the workshop and from the collection alike.
Grammar of motifs
The mark at the foot of the vase: reading an imperial signature as a motif
· 款识 , kuǎn shí
On the base of the vase, a script that changes with the reign.
Techniques & narratives
Mending porcelain: why China saw fraud in it
· 金缮 , jīn shàn
The same mend, revered in Japan, suspect in China.
Lives of objects
The granary of the dead: an estate in miniature for the beyond
· 魂瓶 , hún píng
Before the rite, the inventory of an estate.
Techniques & narratives
The oblique gesture: why colour thickens in the hollow
· 半刀泥 , bàn dāo ní
The oblique furrow calls the glaze to settle in.
Techniques & narratives
Yaobian: the kiln accident, requalified
· 窑变 , yáo biàn
When the kiln's accident becomes an aesthetic category.
Techniques & narratives
The Yixing pot: the clay that breathes
· 宜兴紫砂 , yí xīng zǐ shā
A clay for tea, and a century of signatures.
Grammar of motifs
The dragon is not a dragon: five faces of a motif
· 龙纹 , lóng wén
Five successive portraits, seven centuries, a single motif.
Grammar of motifs
The grammar of wishes: three ways to encode happiness in a porcelain
· 寓意 , yù yì
A Chinese porcelain does not decorate: it wishes.
Lives of objects
Sleeping on porcelain: the Song summer pillow
· 瓷枕 , cí zhěn
The summer pillow, a popular kiln, an object that migrates.
Techniques & narratives
The bare rim of Ding bowls: when a flaw becomes luxury
· 芒口 , máng kǒu
A technical detail, and the story no longer holds.
Lives of objects
The plum vase is not a flower vase: the Song wine jar
· 梅瓶 , méi píng
The object says something different from its label.