The Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty

"In 1279, the Song Dynasty crumbled beneath the continued onslaughts of the Mongol armies led by Genghis Khan's grandson, Kublai Khan (1215 - 1294), China's self-proclaimed emperor and founder of the Yuan dynasty. The Mongols, nomads from beyond China's northern borders, overwhelmed areas from central Europe to modern Iraq from roughly 1210 through the mid-fourteenth century.  Yuan, the invader's dynasty, dominated China only until 1368, yet it profoundly affected the country's culture and particularly the art of painting.  "

- Gardner's Art Through The Ages, 11th edition, Vol. II, p. 804

  This ceramic pillow, in the form of a tiger, is from one of the smaller Chinese vassal states during the Yuan period.  Note the rich coloration of the glazes as well as the elegant black and white bird design on the neck rest platform.

 "By the Yuan period, Chinese potters had extended their mastery to fully developed porcelains, a technically very demanding medium. ... The surfaces of most porcelains carry painted designs or pictures.  The decorators work with finely ground materials suspended in water and a binding agent (like glue).  The minerals change color dramatically in the kiln. ...   By far the most stable and widely used coloring agents for porcelains are cobalt compounds, which fire to an intense blue."

- Gardner's Art Through The Ages, 11th edition, Vol. II, pp. 806 - 807