The Ming Myth

The highlights of the exhibition are the rare imperial porcelains from the early Ming dynasty with their exquisite decorations and intense shades of blue made from imported cobalt, which are juxtaposed with the more freely painted ‘folk wares’ for the domestic market. An extensive collection of shards excavated by archaeologists on the Iranian island of Hormuz in 1977, which covers a production period of 300 years, illustrates the status of blue and white Chinese porcelain from Jingdezhen as the first global brand.

An important exhibit with a special connection to the Rhineland is a bowl decorated in blue and white and with enamel colours, which the Cologne canon Count Eberhard von Manderscheidt (1552-1608) brought back from Turkey in 1583 and had set in silver as a goblet. The item on loan from a private collection is considered to be the earliest documented blue and white Ming porcelain in Germany.

Supported by

Orientstiftung zur Förderung der Ostasiatischen Kunst
Fördererkreis des Museums für Ostasiatische Kunst Köln e.V.