A Comprehensive Forensic and Structural Study on the Yuan Dynasty Imperial Kiln Engineering and Mineral Crystallization: Focusing on the Yuan Blue-and-White Lobed Covered Box with Fish and Algae Motif (Sigong Collection, Ref. SG-BW-70)
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This monograph presents a systematic forensic and archaeometric investigation of an exceptionally rare, monumental miniature artifact from the Sigong Collection: the Yuan Blue-and-White Lobed Covered Box with Fish and Algae Motif (元靑花 瓜稜 吉祥 魚藻文 蓋盒, Ref. SG-BW-70). While scholarship on Yuan blue-and-white porcelain has predominantly focused on monumental vessels (da guan, da pan, and meiping) engineered during the late Zhizheng period (至正期) for Near Eastern and Mongol imperial banquets, small-scale imperial vessels remain critical yet understudied markers of the technological transition in Jingdezhen’s kiln governance. Grounded in historical sources—specifically the administrative statutes of the Fuliang Porcelain Bureau (浮梁磁局, est. 1278) recorded in the Yuan Shi (元史)—this study integrates quantitative structural mechanics, macroscopic iconographic parsing, and 100× micro-optical forensics. Dimensional and gravimetric analysis demonstrates a total weight of 359 g (height: 7.7 cm, diameter: 11.4 cm) distributed in an engineered 1 : 2.82 "light-top, heavy-base" (shangbao-xiahou, 上薄下厚) ratio (cover: 94 g vs. body: 265 g). This low center of gravity eliminated mechanical collapse of the unglazed interlocking rim (zimu kou, 子母口) during 1,280–1,300 °C reduction firing and guaranteed post-firing structural stability. Morphologically, the artifact translates hammered repoussé techniques of Yuan silver plate into a high-relief 12-lobed compound melon form (十二稜 複合 瓜稜) reinforced by a horizontal stepped indentation (B-ridge, 橫折角) that acts as an annular structural rib. Micro-optical forensic imaging identifies: 1. Underglaze imported cobalt (Smalt/Sumaliqing, 蘇麻離青) undergoing pyrochemical phase separation to yield dendritic hematite (∝Fe2O3) and magnetite (Fe3O4) metallic crystallization crusts (xiguangban, 錫光斑) surrounded by diffuse iron-ion haloes within an opaque, jade-like egg-white glaze (luanbaiyou, 卵白釉); 2. Authentic degradation of dead sub-surface glaze micro-bubbles characterized by ring-cracking and cratered oxidation; 3. Natural exudation of ferruginous flash (huoshihong, 火石紅) radiating from degassing pores on an unglazed base (shadi, 砂底) composed of binary-mixed Macang kaolin clay (麻倉土) and porcelain stone, as evidenced by relic coarse feldspathic laths and interlocking acicular mullite matrices. These converging metrics prove that SG-BW-70 represents a benchmark of imperial table-top ware produced under direct bureaucratic supervision prior to or concurrently with the high-Zhizheng period. Keywords: Yuan Dynasty Blue-and-White (元靑花), Fuliang Porcelain Bureau (浮梁磁局), SG-BW-70, Lobed Melon-Form Covered Box, Macang Kaolin (麻倉土), Lime-Alkali Glaze (石灰鹼釉), Sumaliqing Cobalt (蘇麻離青), Dendritic Hematite Crystallization (赤鐵礦 樹枝狀結晶)
Author: Park, Dong-kyu
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology (arts and humanities)
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225451117