Customer Reviews

Chinese Ceramics: A New Comprehensive Survey from the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco

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A must for anyone interested in Chinese ceramics. Beautifully photographed - a first class publication of quality.

This book has it all: a well-balanced collection covering Chinese ceramics from Yangshao culture to the Republic period, presented with an informative text that gives an overview of history, materials and techniques. Kasuhiro Tsuruta deserves special mention for the many superb colour photographs; they show texture and detail of glazes hard to capture on film.
The text and maps include information obtained from recent excavations of kiln sites, which makes this useful as a supplement to older books on Chinese ceramics. Attributions of provenance for some pieces have changed due to recent research. Besides a glossary and the usual list of dynasties and reigns, there is a very useful list of the Chinese characters for proper names, place names, descriptive phrases and technical terms.
The collection itself, largely the bequest of the late Avery Brundage, is absolutely stunning in its taste and range. Monochrome glazes, for example, are well represented. The connoisseur's eye is evident. This is a very useful overview of historical Chinese ceramics, but it would be of interest to anyone with a taste for the beautiful and subtle.