Ming Dynasty Wanli Mark (1573-1619) Porcelain Jar with "Deers in the Woods" Pattern
Painted in Underglaze Blue and Overglaze Polychrome Enamels
明代 萬曆 (A.D.1573-1619) "鹿在樹林中"青花五彩罐
Dimension of the jar is about 29 cm (largest diameter in the middle) x 34 cm (height).
The ascendancy of polychrome enamel decoration over other ornamental techniques seen in porcelains of the Jiajing-Wangli periods could represent an attempt to compensate for the low quality of potting by making an ambitious display of color. Ceramic painters were adept and imaginative with their palette of enamels and sought to achieve a maximum number of effects.
An important innovation of the Jiajing -Wangli periods (1522-1619), the so-called wucai ("five-color") decoration, was one of the last major additions to the lexicon of ornamental techniques developed during the Ming dynasty, Despite its name, the number of colors in wucai decoration is not strictly limited to five. Wucai, like doucai, is a combination of underglaze blue and overglaze polychrome enamels. However, where the soft underglaze blue of doucai was primarily used for dainty outline that laid the groundwork for elegant little washes of pale enamel colors, the dark blue of wucai was applied in bold washes to complement vigorous splashes of strong overglaze colors, and outlining was mostly done in overglaze red, brown, or black.
Fu Lu Shou (Chinese: 福祿壽; pinyin: Fú Lù Shòu) refers to the concept of Good Fortune (Fu), Prosperity (Lu), and Longevity (Shou). This Taoist concept is thought to date back to the Ming Dynasty, when the Fu Star, Lu Star and Shou Star were considered to be personified deities of these attributes respectively. The term is commonly used in Chinese culture to denote the three attributes of a good life. Since the pronunciation of "deer" is similar to "Lu" in Chinese so that deer is one of the most favored symbols in the design of porcelain patterns to denote prosperity.
The wucai porcelain is a kind of overglaze decoration porcelain which is made by firing the already-fired plain base painted with a few colorful patterns in the colorful kiln with 770 - 800 degrees Celsius. It features rich colors, with red, yellow, green, blue, purple etc as the basic hue. As it has clear lines and the firing temperature is slightly higher than that of famille rose, and the color not so soft, it is also called "yingcai" (literally, hard color).
Wucai is a new variety of the Jingdezhen Kiln during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. As blue paint did not exist in the Ming Dynasty, blue-and-white took the place where blue color should be presented, hence the name "blue-and-white wucai". It then became a feature peculiar to the age, with wucai in the Jiajing and Wanli Periods as the representatives.
絢麗的明代青花五彩瓷器
明代彩繪瓷器進入了一個輝煌的歷史時期。除了釉下青花、釉裡紅外，還有釉上五花彩、素三彩以及釉上、釉下結合的斗彩、青花五彩等。、但最典型的是青花五彩，它創燒於明代宣德年間（公元1426—1435年）。《博物要覽》等文獻記載：「用白地青花，間裝五色……宣品最貴。」
青花五花五彩以紅、黃、綠、褐、紫釉上彩和釉下青花相結合，即：根據紋飾需要，將用青花表現的部位先畫出來。施釉後高溫燒造，在釉上再用紅、黃、綠、褐、紫等多種彩料，按照圖案花紋的需要施彩完成紋飾。正如《南窯筆記》中所載「青花畫花鳥，半彩、復入彩料，湊其全體。」再經七百到八百度爐火焙燒而成。這種技法的改變，開創了瓷器裝飾藝術的一個新的門類。釉下青花局部當藍色使用，使原本艷麗的五彩又增加了幾分凝重之美。
明代青花五彩的特點是：
一、 沒有用青花鉤紋飾輪廓線，而是用青花平塗、描繪，把畫面補全。
二、 與明代斗彩的區別在於 後者是青花雙鉤線內填以所需要色彩。
三、 與明代五彩色的區別在於後者通體均用釉上彩描繪，不用釉下青花紋飾。
四、 青花五彩創燒於宣德，延燒至清初，康熙時期有了釉上藍彩、金彩、黑彩，釉下青花局部施釉逐漸退出了工藝領域。
五、 喜用紅、黃、綠、褐、紫重色（必須用紅色方能稱五彩），色彩濃艷，花紋瑰麗。常見紋飾圖案有蓮池鴛鴦、魚藻、人物、嬰戲和雲龍、雲鳳、雲鶴、八卦等。輔助紋飾有山石、花果、荷葉、纏枝蓮、蠳珞、回紋。濃重艷麗的色彩對比，確實達到了鮮亮華麗的新局面。
青花五彩自明宣德年間創燒，正德、弘治接續燒造，嘉靖、萬歷時期制作達到鼎盛時期，無論質與量，為明代之冠，傳世作品大放異彩，其影響之大，使後代凡用五彩的無不望其項背。
瓷器最重畫工。青花五彩之所以成為明代瓷器的佼佼者，這與其獨有的繪畫風格是密不可分的。青花五彩以其顏色之多，又不受輪廓線的昜束，能自由設色的特點，更能發揮明瓷畫工熟練的繪畫技能。嘉靖年間，是景德鎮最繁榮的時期之一，青五彩被點綴的更加五彩繽紛。這時期的圖案紋飾取材更加廣泛。有的與佛道有關，有的寓意吉祥富貴，多福多壽多子等。這些極富民俗趣味的吉祥圖案，是由於用官搭民燒的方法，發揮了民間藝人智慧，才產生這類大眾化的裝飾畫風，這也是此時瓷器裝飾紋樣的一大特色。
總之，明代青花五彩的出現，為中國瓷器裝飾開辟了廣闊的道路，可以說有了青花五彩才有了後世中多種彩瓷的出現，並成為以明代居於主導地位的裝飾色彩，是中國瓷器史上的一個重要裡程碑。
鹿字與福祿的「祿」同音，故鹿也成了吉祥的象征。青花五彩罐上鹿紋與表示祥瑞的花草樹木結合在一起，既好看又表達了人們的美好願望。