Ausstellung

The Ming Myth

Blue and White Porcelain, 1368 – 1644

Mai 22, 2025 to November 9, 2025

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.

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.

Vessels and plates decorated with mythical creatures, literary scenes, poems and auspicious flowers and symbols provide an insight into the intellectual world of the cultivated upper class of the Ming dynasty, which was strongly influenced by the three religions, Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism.

Curator: Dr. Daniel Suebsman

Supported by

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

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Opening times

Tuesday to Sunday
11am – 5pm
Every first Thursday in the month
11am – 10pm (except Mai 1)

Closed Mondays; open on All Saints' Day
Museum is closed on December 24th, Christmas Day (25 Dec), New Year's Eve (31 Dec) and New Year's Day (1 Jan). Museum is opend on Easter Monday, Whit Monday, German Unity Day and December 26.

more

Admission prices

€ 9.50 / € 5.50

KölnTag on the first Thursday of the month (except public holidays): free admission to the Museum for all Cologne residents.

more

How to get here

Public transport: Tram routes 1 and 7 and bus route 142, alight at ‘Universitätsstrasse’
There is a car park at the museum
more

Barrier-free

The museum is barrier-free. Disabled toilet available.
more




Museum für
Ostasiatische Kunst Köln
Universitätsstrasse 100
D 50674 Köln
Ticket office +49.221.221-28617
mok@museenkoeln.de
Legal notice

Opening times

Tuesday to Sunday
11am – 5pm
Every first Thursday in the month
11am – 10pm 

Closed Mondays; open on All Saints' Day
Museum is closed on December 24th, Christmas Day (25 Dec), New Year's Eve (31 Dec) and New Year's Day (1 Jan). Museum is opend on Easter Monday, Whit Monday, German Unity Day and December 26.
more

Admission prices

€ 7,50 /reduced € 4,50

from 20 June
€ 9,50 /reduced € 5,50

KölnTag on the first Thursday of the month (except public holidays): free admission to the Museum for all Cologne residents.
more

How to get here

Public transport: Tram routes 1 and 7 and bus route 142, alight at ‘Universitätsstrasse’
There is a car park at the museum
more

Barrier-free

The museum is barrier-free. Disabled toilet available.
more




Museum für
Ostasiatische Kunst Köln
Universitätsstrasse 100
D 50674 Köln
Ticket office +49.221.221-28617
mok@museenkoeln.de
Legal notice