Objectifying China 瓷移物化

Porcelain, with its fine white body, delicately painted decoration and associations with China’s culture and vast wealth, has long delighted and captivated people in the West, as well as across the whole of Asia and the Islamic world.

This catalogue accompanies the exhibition Objectifying China: Ming and Qing Dynasty Ceramics and Their Stylistic Influences Abroad, held at the University Museum and Art Gallery of The University of Hong Kong. The work explores the production of Chinese porcelain and other ceramics for both export and the domestic market, and the many responses to these wares made overseas using local materials and decorative techniques.

The objects are considered from a variety of perspectives: as the product of skilled artisans, valuable trade commodities, useful objects for daily life and as important evidence of cultural interaction.

胎體潔白、裝飾精緻、與深厚的中國文化密切相關的瓷器，歷世歷代以來備受西方、亞洲各地及伊斯蘭世界的人民推崇與注目。

為配合《瓷移物化：陶染域外的明清陶瓷》展覽，香港大學美術博物館出版此圖錄，旨在探討為本地與外銷市場而設的中國瓷器及其他陶瓷生產，並域外陶匠以當地的材料和裝飾工藝所塑造出的工藝迴響。

上述的器物可以多角度來理解：它們既是匠人鬼斧神工之作、貿易珍品、日用品，亦為文化交流的重要明證。