Chinese Ceramics

This exhibition, comprising works from LACMA’s permanent collection, presents an introduction to Chinese ceramics, with examples from c. 2500 BC (Neolithic period) to the 19th century. The first section provides a survey of the technical development of Chinese ceramics, including the three basic types of clay—earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain—and decorative techniques, such as glazing. The second section focuses on some of the symbols and narratives embedded in the decoration of Chinese ceramics, including designs key to understanding Chinese cosmology, religion, history, and society. The exportation of Chinese ceramics to other parts of Asia began as early as the seventh and eighth centuries, and to Europe in the sixteenth century. The third section of this exhibition presents ceramics exported to Japan, Southeast Asia, the Near East, Europe, and the Americas between the fourteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.