Islamic Porcelain

Exquisite Islamic Porcelain made in Jingdezhen

Yusof Jin Liyan

Blue and white porcelain became well established and very refined during the Yuan dynasty in the fourteenth century. It was successfully made in China’s Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province. Since its inception, it was quite evident that blue and white porcelain had a very close affinity with the Islamic culture. In the Ming period, blue and white porcelain was not only demanded by the imperial palace, it was also exported to faraway lands through the marine export trade. The most famous oceanic expeditionary voyage was led by Admiral Zheng He who was a Muslim, reaching Western Asia and Eastern Africa from 1405 to 1433. Today, there are still quite a rich and renowned collection of blue and white porcelain in Turkey and Iran.

During the mid-Ming period, in 1506-1521, Emperor Zhengde was on the throne. He showed great interest and reverence for Islam. With his influence, the Jingdezhen imperial kiln made a series of very unique and distinctive blue and white porcelain vessels with Arabic or Persian decorative inscriptions. A noteworthy development in the art and relics market in recent years is the very high regard for those Jingdezhen porcelain vessels reflecting strong Islamic culture. One notable example is the very high price of over one million US dollars paid for a Zhengde period blue and white jar with Arabic inscriptions in an auction at Christie’s. It is now in the collection of a private Hong Kong connoisseur.

Yusof Jin Liyan, a Muslim art collector currently residing in Beijing, had collaborated with eminent calligrapher Mohamed Ali Wang Qifei Qalamudeen, in presenting to you the very exquisite porcelain made by the distinguished Jingdezhen kilns in the current exhibition. These porcelain vessels had integrated the very traditional aesthetics with contemporary vitality and spirit. The number of vessels produced for this exhibition is limited and we hope they are cherished in high esteem by our very respected audiences in the Muslim world.

(We also welcome the commissioning of porcelain with specific inscriptions made in our Jingdezhen kilns. Please enquire with us for details.)

Source from Christie's Auction

Collection from the British Museum

Jin Liyan is a ceramics scholar from Beijing. He went to Japan to further his studies in 1996 and later graduated from the History of Arts PhD course in Keio University. In 2005-2006, he was a junior specialist in the ceramics and works of art department at Christie’s, Hong Kong. In 2007-2014, he was Senior Manager in the Porcelain Department in China Guardian. During this period, he was in charge of the Ming and Qing Imperial porcelain and Yixing zisha (purple clay) ware and organized the company’s relevant special auctions. Jin Liyan has also published many theses and research papers on ceramics and has been invited to deliver talks and participated in seminars in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Japan. He is currently the academic director of the Classy Society, Sungari International Auction Company Limited, and Beijing Johan’s Auction Company Limited. He is a visiting professor of the Tsinghua Art Appreciation Program and also an eminent independent ceramics history scholar.

Calligrapher

Mohamed Ali Wang Qifei Qalamudeen.

He was born in China in 1989.

From the age of 9, Arabic calligraphy has amazed him and attracted him to seek more about Islam. Thus, this is the reason he embraced Islam when he was 12.

In 2005, he started to learn calligraphy from Mr. Haji Noor Deen.

The Islamic Association in China sent him to Cairo to further his studies in Al-Azhar Shareef in 2008.

He continued to learn calligraphy from Master of Calligraphy, Mr Belaid Hamidi in 2009 at the foundation of Ihya Turath Halaqa in Cairo.

During this period, he attained a total of five certificates (ijazet) in seven types of traditional calligraphies.

They are:

1: Certificate in Diwani and Jaly Diwani in the year of 2011. He was the first Chinese to attain two ijazet that linked back to the Ottoman calligraphers.

2: Certificate in Taalik in 2012.

3: Certificate in Maghribi in 2014.

4: Certificate in Riqa in 2014.

5: Certificate in Tuluth and Naskh in 2015.

In 2013, he won the sixth place in the Maghribi style at the 9th international calligraphy competition held in Istanbul, Turkey.

He won the second place in the Maghribi style at the 10th international calligraphy competition held in Istanbul, Turkey in 2016.

In 2017, he obtained the International Higher diploma in the Art of Islamic Calligraphy awarded by the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture.