Sacrificial Blue (Jilan) Glaze

Origin and ritual use

Sacrificial-blue glaze originated during the Yuan dynasty. In the Ming it was used for vessels associated with the worship of Heaven at the Temple of Heaven, which gave the colour its ceremonial name.

Two names

The glaze is written both 祭蓝 (jìlán, “sacrificial blue”) and 霁蓝 (jìlán). The character 霁 describes the clearing of the sky after rain, evoking the breadth and clarity of an open sky.

The colour

Unlike painted blue-and-white, the blue is carried by the glaze itself, coloured with cobalt, so that the whole surface reads as a single deep tone.