“定制”还是“内销”——论明代中前期青花瓷的主要消费群体

"Customized Porcelains by Foreigners" or "Porcelains for Domestic Consumers" ?——The Main Consumers of Blue and White Porcelains of the Early and Mid-Ming Dynasty

明代中前期青花瓷器大量出现在中东、西亚和东非等地的考古发掘中,其特殊的造型、纹饰、工艺和色料曾引起中外学者的广泛兴趣。目前,学术界一般认为,中东西亚等地的穆斯林商人从明代中国大量"定制"青花瓷器后运回国内。然而,明代御窑厂的设立、制度和使命,明青花的造型和纹饰,特别是明代"回回瓷器"的种类、样式以及作为核心装饰的阿拉伯文或波斯文内容,都与"定制"说法难以吻合,它们都显示了明代中前期青花瓷的内销性质,其中以宫廷和皇室需求为主。

A great number of Chinese blue and white porcelains made in the early and mid-Ming Dynasty have been discovered in the archaeological sites in Middle East, West Asia and East Africa. Their unique models, decorations, technologies and cobalt materials have attracted the attention of many foreign and domestic scholars. Most of them believe that these blue and white porcelains were customized for foreign Muslim merchants. However, the setting-up of Ming＇s royal kilns in Jingdezhen, their assignments and inner systems all indicate that the products of royal kilns were consumed by the Palace and royal families. Moreover, the kinds, models, and the contents of the nuclear Arabian and Persian decorations in the ＂Mohammedan Wares＂ are inconsistent with such terms as porcelains customized by foreign muslins.