Style Exploration of Porcelain During Qianlong Dynasty: Tributed by Superintendents of the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln

Abstract

During the Qianlong period of the Qing dynasty, successive superintendents of the Imperial kiln organized craftsmen to pay tribute to the Qianlong Emperor on important festivals of the year, such as the Dragon Boat Festival, birthday of the emperor and queen mother, and the New Year's Festival, etc. At different stages of the Qianlong period, the styles of tribute porcelain were not always the same. The formation of the style of official tribute porcelain was attributed to various factors like economics, politics, and culture. Superintendents of the Jingdezhen imperial kiln during the Qianlong Dynasty also made extraordinary efforts to cater to the preferences of the emperor. To explore the style changes of tribute porcelain during the Qianlong Dynasty, this paper illustrates the characteristics of tribute porcelain in three different phases and the factors of tribute porcelain’s innovation and development, indicating that the changes in various aspects cannot be separated from the development of society and emperor’s personal preference. For the study of Chinese ceramics’ history, it is of great significance to explore the style of tribute porcelain in the Qianlong period.