On 11th April, The Flamboyant Kiln Fire - Exhibition of Ancient Ceramics from Huangdao Kiln held at Henan Museum, 150 pieces (sets) masterpieces from Tang, Song, Jin, Yuan, and Ming, a time of five dynasties, fired in Huangdao kiln unveiled to the public. The shining splendors of the ceramics from Huangdao kiln came to light again after a thousand of years. The profound ceramic culture of thousands of years of China, the wisdom and exquisite craftsmanship of the people in the Central Plains meet together at this event.

 Huangdao kiln at Jiaxian county in Henan province was inaugurated in Sui to Tang period, and came to an end in Yuan dynasty. The kiln ruin covers an area of 21,000 square meters, cultural accumulated layers as high as 2.4 meters. Several ancient sites were discovered which scatter along the banks of the Mati River to the east of the Huangdao village, 12 kilometers in the northwest of the Jiaxian county. Abundant cultural remains were discovered over there, including a variety of ceramics, a great number of the typical wares of the kilns in the northern China were uncovered.

 The exhibition features superior ceramics of the Huangdao kiln collected and researched by Henan Museum, Pingdingshan Museum, and the Huangdao Kiln Institute of Jiaxian County over the past decades. The show covers the three important phases of Huangdao kiln: the Establishment (Tang), Prosperity (Song, Jin), Continuation(Yuan, Ming), helping the audience to understand the development of the kiln's craftsmanship over the hundreds of years.

Establishment- in Tang Dynasty
 Huangdao kiln was initially established in Sui-Tang period, when it primarily produced the ceramics of black glaze with splashes and the yellow glaze types, followed by white glazed wares with green decors, the white color was in the slightly yellowish, the green in dark green tone. Ceramics with splash decors were the representative products of Huangdao kiln in the period, they were also known as “Tang Jun (lit. Jun wares of Tang dynasty)”.

                                 Yellow glazed porcelain holding pot
Prosperity- in Song and Jin Times
 In terms of raw material, workmanship, and quality of the product, the ceramics of this period made great progress than before, the heavily potted body was discarded, replaced by delicate, elegant shapes with purified glaze, graceful patterns, great varieties, and diverse glaze colors, of which the azure, bluish white, rosy are the most prominent.

                          Tricolour pot with Peony phoenix pattern
Continuation- in Yuan and Ming Dynasties
 In Yuan and Ming period, the ceramics of Huangdao kiln were predominantly by those with styles of Cizhou kiln which was characterized by black patterns against white background, and the wares with amber, red and green decors. The common patterns included aquarium, floral sprays, drawn floras; the calligraphic texts were largely ancient poems or admonishing mottoes.

                         White Glazed Porcelain with Black Patterns
 Hopefully, by means of the exhibits of varied shapes and glaze colors, the show reclaims the important position of Huangdao kiln of Jiaxian county in the history of Chinese ceramics, and has the audience perceive its enduring charm.