Chinese ceramics show a continuous development since pre-dynastic times and are one of the most significant forms of Chinese art and ceramics globally. The first pottery was made during the Palaeolithic era. Chinese ceramics range from construction materials such as bricks and tiles, to hand-built pottery vessels fired in bonfires or kilns, to the sophisticated Chinese porcelain wares made for the imperial court and for export. Porcelain was a Chinese invention and is so identified with China that it is still called “china” in everyday English usage. (Excerpted from here)
Recommended Reading
Chinese Art, The Minor Arts - Gold, Silver, Bronze, Cloisonne, Cantonese Enamel, Lacquer, Furniture, WoodThe Art and Architecture of China: 3rd editionThe Hans Popper Collection of Oriental Art: A Selection of 131 Chinese Ancient Bronzes, Sculptures, Ceramics and Korean CeladonsChinese Ceramics from Datable Tombs and Some Other Dated Material: A HandbookDated Chinese Antiquities: 600 To 1650Chinese Export Porcelain in the 19th Century: The Canton Famille Rose PorcelainsThe Tri-color Pottery of T'ang Dynasty The Colorful Art in the Middle Ages of ChinaAppeasing the Spirits: Sui and Tang Dynasty Tomb Sculpture from the Schloss CollectionA Guide to the Tomb and Shrine Art of the Han Dynasty 206 B.C.-A.D. 220Chinese Export Porcelain, Standard Patterns and Forms, 1780-1880Power and Virtue: The Horses in Chinese ArtChinese Glazes: Their Origins, Chemistry, and RecreationThe Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from The People`s Republic of ChinaDawn of the Yellow Earth: Ancient Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang CollectionImperial China : The Art of the Horse in Chinese HistoryGems from the South: Traditional Crafts of Guangong ProvinceProviding for the Afterlife: Brilliant Artifacts from ShandongA Passion for Asia: The Rockefeller LegacyChinese Ceramics and Stone SculptureArt of the Yellow Springs Hardcover – January 15, 2010The Search for Immortality: Tomb Treasures of Han ChinaDating Chinese Porcelain from Facial Features and Adornments: A HandbookChina Trade Porcelain: Patterns of ExchangeColours and Contrast: Ceramic Traditions in Chinese ArchitectureExcavating the Afterlife: The Archaeology of Early Chinese Religion (Art History Publication Initiative Books)How to Identify Old Chinese PorcelainHow to Read Chinese CeramicsChina's Porcelain Capital: The Rise, Fall and Reinvention of Ceramics in JingdezhenMonks in GlazeTomb Treasures: New Discoveries from China's Han DynastyPeranakan Chinese Porcelain: Vibrant Festive Ware of the Straits ChineseAge of Empires: Art of the Qin and Han DynastiesThe Arts of China, Sixth Edition, Revised and ExpandedChinese Imperial Reign MarksThe City of Blue and White: Chinese Porcelain and the Early Modern WorldUnderstanding Chinese Reign Marks: A radical and new interpretation of the term ”Mark and Period.”China Without Dragons: Rare Pieces from Oriental Ceramic SocietyShang Shan Tang: Exhibition of Ancient Chinese Ceramics 20 item (Chinese and English Edition)The Pottery Age: An Appreciation of Neolithic Ceramics from China Circa 7000 bc - Circa 1000 bc (Chinese and English Edition)Illustrated Brief History of Chinese Porcelain: History - Culture - AestheticsKingly Splendor: Court Art and Materiality in Han China (Tang Center Series in Early China)Animal Classification in Central China: From the late Neolithic to the early Bronze Age (International)The Missing Buddhas: The mystery of the Chinese Buddhist statues that stunned the Western art worldPainted Pottery Production and Social Complexity in Neolithic Northwest ChinaChinese Export Porcelains (Guides to Historical Artifacts)Chinese pottery burial objects of the Sui and Tang dynasties. An exhibition with special reference to the scientific testing of pottery wares, and the works of the forger
