Monks in glaze : : patronage, kiln origin, and iconography of the Yixian Luohans / / by Eileen Hsiang-ling Hsu.

• Author: Hsu, Eileen Hsiang-ling.
• Place / Publishing House: Boston : : Brill,, 2016.
• Year of Publication: 2016
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (283 pages) :; illustrations, photographs, tables

Monks in Glaze is a complete reassessment of the famous group of large glazed ceramic sculptures known as the Yixian Luohans . Drawing upon hitherto-unknown epigraphic documents, Eileen Hsiang-ling Hsu proposes a new date (1511–1519) for the group’s production and, for the first time, identifies the kiln centre near Beijing as its birthplace. Removed more than one hundred years ago from a massive grotto in northern China, the group’s provenance disappeared after its dispersal between 1913 and 1933. Delving into the social and economic issues of religious patronage, imperial workshop practice, and nuanced style of post-Yuan Buddhist art, Hsu convincingly shows that such a large group of masterworks were products of well-developed commercial economy of the Ming dynasty.

Table of Contents

Preliminary material -- Introduction -- The Epigraphic and Archaeological Record -- History of Liuli Glazed Ceramics -- The Efflorescence of Ming Sancai Sculpture -- Iconography: Early Development and the Guanxiu Tradition -- Iconography: Synthesis -- Conclusion -- Addendum: Friedrich Perzyński and the Hunt for the Gods of Yixian by Richard Smithies -- The Stele of 1741 -- The Stele of 1667 -- The Stele of 1519 -- Size Chart -- Results of X-ray diffraction analysis of three glazed ceramic sherds from Shanzidong, Yixian by Kang Baoqiang and David M. Kamen -- Endnotes -- Bibliography -- Chinese Glossary -- Index.