Wucai

Wu cai meaning five enamels or "five color ware" is in reality mostly three enamels (red, green and yellow) within outlines in blackish dry cobalt, underglaze blue, plus the white of the porcelain body, all in all making up five colors. The name Wucai or Wanli wucai refers to Chinese porcelain decorated in this palete dating from the Ming period (1368-1642, especially during the reign of Jiajing (AD 1522-66), Longqing (AD 1567-72) and Wanli (1573-1619) emperors, who commissioned a variety of porcelain items decorated in this style. The number of colors can differ and becoms more as the times goes on. This possibly suggest that the important thing is the name wu-cai, or five-color ware, where the number five has an important symbolic significance in Chinese art.

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© Jan-Erik Nilsson, Gothenburg, Sweden 1998-2007