The Ming: furniture and blue-and-white

The imperial kilns of Jingdezhen and Ming furniture became models far beyond China.

The imperial kilns in Jingdezhen were founded in 1369 and made porcelain of the highest quality. Kraak porcelain, named after Portuguese ships, was exported to Europe in large quantities from the late sixteenth century.

Ming furniture in hardwoods such as huanghuali was joined with sophisticated mortises and tenons without nails. Its simple, elegant forms inspired twentieth-century designers such as Hans J. Wegner, whose China Chair of 1944 is based on a Ming chair.