Chinese Ming Dynasty Vases

Ming Vases• Ming vases sell for millions

(the record is $72 million) What makes them so special?

– Ming dynasty 1368–1644 ad– Special technology advances

allowed for blue glazes to not run, and to be consistent in color

– The white part of the ceramic was translucent

So, the blue glaze was better. . .But how?

Tang Dynasty Vase, 581-907 ad, $1200

Ming Dynasty Vase, 1368-1644 ad, $1.3 million

I’ve seen vases like that everywhere!

• Because they are valuable, there are a lot of fakes.

• How do you identify a real Ming vase?– Become an expert; read lots of books– Ceramic should be translucent, not opaque– Dragon designs– Fish designs– Flowers (peonies and lotus)– Dark blue (light blue = fake!)– Blurry looking is fake!– Real Ming has a special mark on the base

Can you spot the fakes?

Making your own Ming• Consider including these

elements to make your vase look Ming– Dragons– Flowers (peonies and lotus)– Fish– Floral and leaf designs (like

vines etc.)– Dark blue “glaze”