1/4 Treasures of Chinese Porcelain

Art Documentaries
Art Documentaries
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Published 2013-11-05
   • Treasures of Chinese Porcelain  
First broadcast: 11 Oct 2011.
In November 2010, a Chinese vase unearthed in a suburban semi in Pinner sold at auction for £43 million - a new record for a Chinese work of art. Why are Chinese vases so famous and so expensive? The answer lies in the European obsession with Chinese porcelain that began in the 16th century.
In this documentary Lars Tharp, the Antiques Roadshow expert and Chinese ceramics specialist, sets out to explore why Chinese porcelain was so valuable then - and still is now. He goes on a journey to parts of China closed to Western eyes until relatively recently. Lars travels to the mountainside from which virtually every single Chinese export vase, plate and cup began life in the 18th century - a mountain known as Mount Gaolin, from whose name we get the word kaolin, or china clay. He sees how the china clay was fused with another substance, mica, that would turn it into porcelain.
All Comments (21)
  • @joyfullone3968
    I am addicted to blue and white things. Fabrics, China, art, etc. I am sitting in a room with blue and white around me....delicious, meditative and as sedative as the clouds in a blue sky or the white caps on a blue sea....
  • @MrSludov
    The rest of the documentary is SIMPLY SPLENDID.
  • @spiritofzen7022
    Eastern artisans are the best in the world I think, their skill in embroidery’s , porcelain, painting and metal work is unrivalled
  • @godschildyes
    So wonderful! These Chinese have blessed this world with many amazing things!
  • @janeday9148
    Amazing programme you tell the story beautifully, more please
  • @reason5591
    Absolutely stunning examples in this video.
  • @makigott19
    LOVESS THIS SERIESSS :DDD THANK YOU!!!
  • @izabelacetnar1659
    That is beautiful thing to collect them , I like the porcelain and even ceramics if the design is interesting , not just paintings on them ,but also the shapes are fantastic .And the crystals are beautiful , the sparks of colours and the sound of them so thin....... and long.......And the natural stones , with the venice inside ,in many different colours . Even the wood is beautiful material with characteristics wooden patterns like ( slopes and sewings ) .
  • @ursulaphillips5309
    Yes, knowlege of Chinese porcelain found it's way right to my ears as a young girl. But trully, I did not know it was this remarkable.
  • @shawnaaustin3396
    Last year I found an early Ming Dynasty vase at a thrift store worth tens of thousands of dollars. Sad thing is I had no idea at the time what it was or it’s worth and I didn’t buy it for $8 😩
  • @wordscapes5690
    I inherited a rather large collection of Chinese porcelain spanning nearly a thousand years of Chinese history, from the early porcelain of the Shang to the more elaborate Ming dynasty. Not even poverty could bring me to part with them.
  • @yuhanzhang2882
    Wow, many of these porcelain back then still beat the modern dinning wares produced today. 0:22 what a beauty