Cultural Selection: Imitation and Inspiration: The Transformation of Porcelain along the Silk Roads
Chinese Porcelain by Operation Shooting ©ShutterstockImitation and Inspiration: The Transformation of Porcelain along the Silk Roads
We invite you to read our weekly Cultural Selection articles which adhere to preselected themes. Knowledge and appreciation of these subjects helps to preserve, disseminate, and promote elements of our common heritage of the Silk Roads.
Basra has long played a central role in the production of wares, reflecting a combination of different glazing techniques and Islamic concepts of abstract design. These products represented innovative shaping and firing techniques, materials, and creativity. Inspired by Chinese porcelain that had spread throughout the Mesopotamia region by way of Muslim merchants, Basra potters began to skilfully reproduce the white colour inherent to Chinese designs with the invention of an opaque white glaze. This amalgamation of artistic ideas took place during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
Subsequently, the manufacturing of these items was internationally transformed. Due to the fluidity of intercultural reciprocity, early Basran implementation of cobalt blue also inspired Chinese use of blue and white colours in their production process. The juxtaposition of bold, vibrant colours generated interest amongst Chinese potters, who then experimented with the application of blue ink on white surfaces. This exchange of knowledge, savoir-faire, and techniques among these diverse populations is visibly reflected in the wares that were historically manufactured and traded along these regions. Such activity also attests to their common cultural heritage of the Silk Roads.
The porcelain products, as well as the way in which they were produced, reflects their individuality and vibrancy. Furthermore, this reflects a combination of different techniques and ideas that represent a sharing of intercultural ideas. Thus, the fusion of wares, and the techniques employed to produce them, symbolise the interconnectivity of East and West innovative design.
See also:
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Imitation and Inspiration: The Transformation of Porcelain along the Silk Roads
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