Domestic Ming Cobalt

Chinese cobalt sources that increasingly shaped the softer and more varied blues of Ming blue-and-white after the early fifteenth century.

Technical Description

Imported cobalt did not remain the only source for Jingdezhen blue-and-white. During the Ming period, Chinese cobalt ores became increasingly important.

Different cobalt sources contain different associated elements and do not all behave identically in the kiln. As a result, “domestic Ming cobalt” should be understood as a historical family rather than one chemically uniform pigment.

Compared with the famously dense, iron-spotted appearance associated with Sumaliqing, many later Ming blues can appear softer or more even — although period, preparation, mixing and firing all matter.