Chinese art is the deepest specialist field in Asian art collecting, and its literature is correspondingly large: dynastic surveys, technical studies of ceramics and their reign marks, museum and auction catalogues, and a growing shelf of Chinese-language publications from mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwanese museums.
Collectors of porcelain rely heavily on catalogues of documented collections and on mark handbooks, because so much later production copies earlier styles. Painting and calligraphy have their own literature, best entered through a general history before the monographs.
Where to start
The Arts of China (in stock) — Michael Sullivan, 1973. The standard one-volume history, revised through many editions.
Art in China — Craig Clunas, 1997. The Oxford History of Art volume, organised by context rather than dynasty.
Oriental Blue and White — Sir Harry Garner, 1954. The classic study of Chinese blue-and-white porcelain.
The Chinese Potter (in stock) — Margaret Medley, 1976. Chinese ceramics explained through how they were made.
The Handbook of Marks on Chinese Ceramics — Gerald Davison, 1994. The working reference for reign and hall marks.
Books on Chinese Art & Porcelain in stock (96)
Lot of 4 Arts of Asia magazines, 1992-1993 — $28.50 A lot of four issues of Arts of Asia, the Hong Kong bimonthly magazine on Asian art and antiques, covering May-June 1992 through September-October 1993.
Buddhist Arts, No. 3, 76 May 16: Pure Land Art Feature by Buddhist Arts Magazine — $28.49 Issue no. 3 (May 1987) of Buddhist Arts (佛教藝術), a Chinese-language quarterly published in Taipei by Buddhist Arts Magazine Press, devoted to Pure Land art.
Dutch Mandarin by H. De Vries-Van Der Hoeven, C. D. Barkman — $7.81 Dutch Mandarin: The Life and Work of Robert Hans van Gulik is a biography of the Dutch diplomat, sinologist and writer by C. D. Barkman and H. de Vries-van der Hoeven, published by Orchid Press in 2018 in an English…
Chinese Snuff Bottles: 5 by Hugh M. Moss — $17.03 Chinese Snuff Bottles: 5 is the May 1969 issue of a magazine for the collector and student of Chinese snuff bottles, edited by Hugh M. Moss and published by Hugh M. Moss Ltd in England.
Feuergeburten - The Birth of Form by MAK Frankfurt. — $10.33 Feuergeburten: Frühe chinesische Keramik im mak.frankfurt (The Birth of Form: Early Chinese Ceramics at mak.frankfurt) is a bilingual German and English catalogue of the early Chinese ceramics held by the Museum für…
The Youngman collection: Chinese Jades From Neolithic to Qing 2008 — $17.95 The Youngman Collection: Chinese Jades from Neolithic to Qing is a bilingual (English and Chinese) catalogue of the jade collection of Robert P. Youngman, published by Art Media Resources in 2008.
Chinese Art by Roger Fry and Laurence Binyon — $28.49 Chinese Art: An Introductory Handbook to Painting, Sculpture, Ceramics, Textiles, Bronzes & Minor Arts, published by B. T. Batsford Ltd. of London.
Latter days of the law: Images of Chinese Buddhism, 850-1850 by Marsha Weidner — $11.57 An exhibition catalogue edited by Marsha Weidner (University of Hawaii Press, 1994) on Chinese Buddhist art from 850 to 1850, covering the Song-Yuan and Ming-Qing periods, with a preface by Sherman E. Lee and essays by…
Focus on Singapore Writing by Ho Wing Meng — $23.44 The Emperor's Lost Treasure: Remnants of Unrecorded Chenghua Porcelain by Ho Wing Meng (Times Editions), a study of Chenghua-period Chinese porcelain, including blue-and-white pieces such as the dragon moonflask on the…
Studies in Sino-Tibetan Buddhist Art Prceedings of the Second International Conf… by Xie jisheng, Shen weirong, Liaoshang — $45.00 A Chinese-language volume of conference papers on Sino-Tibetan Buddhist art, Han Zang fo jiao yi shu yan jiu, the proceedings of the second international conference on Tibetan archaeology and art, edited by Xie Jisheng…
Chinese Silk by Shelagh Vainker — $12.35 Chinese Silk: A Cultural History by Shelagh Vainker, published by Rutgers University Press in 2004.
Tibetan Monastic Art by Xinjian Li, Zhenzhong Li — $10.45 Tibetan Monastic Art (Xizang si miao yi shu), a Chinese-language illustrated book on Tibetan Buddhist temple art, edited by Li Xinjian with photographs by Li Xinjian, Cai Xianmin and Xue Jia (Chongqing Publishing House…
Empires Beyond the Great Wall: The Heritage of Genghis Khan by Adam T. Kessler, Ad Kessler — $18.95 Empires Beyond the Great Wall: The Heritage of Genghis Khan by Adam T. Kessler, published by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County in 1994.
A History of Far Eastern Art by Sherman E. Lee — $23.75 A survey of Asian art by Sherman E. Lee, A History of Far Eastern Art, published by Harry N. Abrams in 1964.
Chinese Monumental Art by Peter C. Swann — $30.40 A study of Chinese monumental art by Peter C. Swann, published by The Viking Press in 1963.
A Handbook of Chinese Art by Margaret Medley — $17.10 A handbook of Chinese art by Margaret Medley, published by Horizon Press in 1965.
Ink Unbound Paintings by Liu Yang — $24.22 Ink Unbound: Paintings by Liu Dan by Liu Yang, with an essay by Stephen Little, published by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in 2016.
THE HAN DYNASTY (ENGLISH EDITION) by Michele Pirazzoli-T'serstevens — $15.50 The Han Dynasty by Michele Pirazzoli-t'Serstevens, translated by Janet Seligman and published by Rizzoli in 1982.
MASTERWORKS OF MING AND QING Painting from the Forbidden City by Howard Rogers, Sherman E. Lee — $10.45 An exhibition catalogue, Masterworks of Ming and Qing Painting from the Forbidden City, by Howard Rogers and Sherman E. Lee, published in 1988 by the International Arts Council.
The Arts of China Michael Sullivan — $8.44 The Arts of China by Michael Sullivan, published by the University of California Press in 1978.
CHRISTIE'S PICTORIAL HISTORY OF CHINESE CERAMICS by Anthony Du Boulay — $110.17 Christie's Pictorial History of Chinese Ceramics by Anthony Du Boulay, a survey of Chinese ceramics through dynasties, with reproductions of pieces.
Chinese Porcelain Vol. I & Vol. II by W.G. Gulland — $63.79 Chinese Porcelain by W. G. Gulland (1911) is a two-volume work on Chinese porcelain, written for English-speaking collectors in the early twentieth century.
Chinese Jade Throughout The Ages by Stanley Charles Nott — $31.35 Chinese Jade Throughout the Ages by Stanley Charles Nott (Charles E. Tuttle, 1981; second edition, 12th printing) is an illustrated survey of Chinese jade carving and its development over several thousand years.
Chinese Ceramics From Chicago Collections Catalogue of Exhibition 1983 by Betty Iverson Monroe — $18.05 An exhibition catalogue by Betty Iverson Monroe from the Mary and Leigh Block Gallery of Northwestern University (1983; 104 pages) on Chinese ceramics from Chicago collections, covering porcelain and pottery from…
SACRED MOUNTAINS IN CHINESE ART by Kiyohiko Munakata — $14.41 The catalogue of the exhibition Sacred Mountains in Chinese Art, curated by Kiyohiko Munakata, shown at the Krannert Art Museum, University of Illinois (November 9 to December 16, 1990) and the Metropolitan Museum of…
Chinese Ornament The Lotus and the Dragon by Rawson, Jessica — $10.49 Chinese Ornament: The Lotus and the Dragon by Jessica Rawson, published by British Museum Press.
Treasures of Chinese Glass Work Shops by Clarence F. Shangraw — $8.88 Treasures of Chinese Glass Work Shops by Clarence F. Shangraw, published by Art Media Resources in 1997.
The Chinese Potter Hardcover Margaret Medley — $8.45 The Chinese Potter: A Practical History of Chinese Ceramics by Margaret Medley, published by Cornell University Press in 1982.
Ink Unbound: Paintings by Liu Yang — $56.99 An exhibition catalogue from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (2016) on the paintings of Liu Dan (born 1953), the Chinese ink painter.
Lot of 6 Arts of Asia magazines, 1978-1979 — $47.50 A lot of six issues of Arts of Asia, the Hong Kong-based illustrated magazine of Asian art and antiques, covering May-June 1978 through November-December 1979.
Lot of 5 Arts of Asia magazines, 1977 — $47.50 Five issues of the Hong Kong magazine Arts of Asia from 1977: January-February, March-April, May-June, July-August and November-December (Vol. 7, no. 6).
Lot of 7 Arts of Asia magazines, 1971, 1975, 1976 — $71.25 A lot of seven issues of Arts of Asia, the Hong Kong-based illustrated magazine on Asian art and antiques: January-February 1971, November-December 1971, January-February, May-June and September-October 1975, and…
Lot of 6 Arts of Asia magazines, 1996, 2006 — $57.00 A lot of six issues of Arts of Asia, the Hong Kong magazine on Asian art and antiques: five issues from Volume 26 (1996), numbers 1 and 4 through 6 among them, including a special Japanese issue, and Volume 36, Number 1…
Lot of 4 Arts of Asia magazines, 1994-1995 — $36.05 A lot of four issues of Arts of Asia, the Hong Kong magazine on Asian art and antiques, dated May-June 1994, November-December 1994, September-October 1995 and November-December 1995.
Lot of 5 Arts of Asia magazines, January-October, 1991 — $47.50 Five issues of Arts of Asia, the Hong Kong bi-monthly magazine on Asian art and antiques, from the 1991 volume (Volume 21): January-February, March-April, May-June, July-August and a later issue whose cover feature is…
Lot of 4 Arts of Asia Magazines, January-October, 1990 — $33.25 A lot of four 1990 issues of Arts of Asia, the Hong Kong bi-monthly magazine on Asian art and antiques: January-February, March-April (a Japanese arts issue), May-June and September-October.
Buddhist Arts, No. 4, Oct. 16, 1987 — $28.49 Issue no. 4 (16 October 1987) of Buddhist Arts (佛教藝術), a Chinese-language periodical on Buddhist art.
Buddhist Arts, No. 2, 75年11月16日 1986 — $28.49 Buddhist Arts (佛教藝術), No. 2, is a Chinese-language journal issue dated 16 November 1986 (Republic of China year 75).
Icon & Transformation: (Re)Imaginings in Dongba Art Art Catalogue 2003 by Charles F. McKhann, Yang Fuquan, Zhang Yunling — $13.75 Icon & Transformation: (Re)Imaginings in Dongba Art is an exhibition catalogue by Charles F. McKhann, Yang Fuquan and Zhang Yunling, published by Sheehan Gallery Press, Walla Walla, in 2003.
Studies in Chinese art by Te-K'un Cheng — $20.88 Studies in Chinese Art is a collection of scholarly studies by Cheng Te-k'un (Zheng Dekun), published in 1983 by the Chinese University Press, Hong Kong, as number 4 in the Studies Series of the Institute of Chinese…
An Introduction To Chinese Art by Mario Prodan — $5.68 An Introduction to Chinese Art is a survey of Chinese art by Mario Prodan, published in London by Spring Books in 1958.
Central Asian Painting by Nobuo Kumagi — $28.49 Seiiki (Central Asian Painting), a volume in Heibonsha's Chūgoku no meiga (Famous Chinese Paintings) series, by Kumagai Nobuo (listed as Nobuo Kumagi), published in Tokyo in 1957.
Chinese Rugs: A Buyer's Guide by Lee Allane — $5.44 Chinese Rugs: A Buyer's Guide is a 1993 guide to collecting and buying Chinese carpets by Lee Allane, published by Thames and Hudson.
Carpets of China and Its Border Regions by Virginia Dulany Hyman and William C. C. Hu — $17.08 Carpets of China and Its Border Regions is a study of Chinese rugs and carpets by Virginia Dulany Hyman and William C. C. Hu, published by Ars Ceramica, Ltd. of Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1982.
Chinese snuff bottles from the collection of the Rt. Hon. The Marquess by Hugh M. Moss — $22.87 Collection catalogue of Chinese snuff bottles from the collection of the Marquess of Exeter, published in London by Hugh Moss (Publications) Limited in 1974 as number 6 in the series Chinese Snuff Bottles.
A Short History of Chinese Art by Hugo Munsterberg — $7.10 A Short History of Chinese Art is a survey by Hugo Munsterberg, then Associate Professor at Michigan State College, published in 1949 by the Philosophical Library, New York, with Michigan State College Press, East…
The Shanghai Museum of Art by Shen Zhiyu — $5.20 The Shanghai Museum of Art is an illustrated museum catalogue edited by Shen Zhiyu and published by Harry N. Abrams, New York, in 1983.
The Imperial Ming Tombs by Ann Paludan — $10.43 The Imperial Ming Tombs is a study of the Ming dynasty imperial burial site north of Beijing, with text and photographs by Ann Paludan and a foreword by L. Carrington Goodrich.
Quentin Roosevelt's China Ancestral Realms Of The Naxi by Cindy Ho — $25.29 Quentin Roosevelt's China: Ancestral Realms of the Naxi, edited by Christine Mathieu and Cindy Ho (Rubin Museum of Art / Arnoldsche, 2011, 200 pages).
Summer Mountains: The Timeless Landscape by Wen Fong — $10.66 A study by Wen Fong of Summer Mountains, the Northern Song Chinese landscape handscroll in the Metropolitan Museum's collection, published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1975.
Dunhuang Tulufan wen wu = by Shanghai bo wu guan, Chinese University of Hong Kong. Art Gallery — $28.49 An exhibition catalogue, Dunhuang Tulufan wenwu (Cultural Relics from Dunhuang and Turfan), for the exhibition jointly presented by the Shanghai Museum and the Art Gallery of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, 24 June…
La Peinture Murale De Touen Houang by François Fourcade — $73.70 La Peinture Murale de Touen Houang by François Fourcade, published by Editions Cercle d'Art, in French.
Early Chinese Pottery and Porcelain by Basil Gray — $22.35 Early Chinese Pottery and Porcelain by Basil Gray, first edition, published by Faber and Faber in 1953.
Tsʻang chʻuan fo chiao tsao hsiang by 刘爱民 — $80.20 A Chinese-language illustrated book on the Tibetan Buddhist sculpture of the Eight Outer Temples at Chengde (Tianjin People's Fine Arts Publishing House, 1995, 123 pages).
Objets D'Art Chine et du Japon by Collection Alfred Forgeron — $28.49 A French auction catalogue of Chinese and Japanese art objects from the collection of Alfred Forgeron, sold at the Hôtel Drouot, Paris, on 28 February and 1-2 March 1910.
Asiatica: Asiatische Keramik by Galerie Koller Zürich — $28.49 An auction catalogue from Galerie Koller Zurich (1982), titled Asiatica: Asiatische Keramik, devoted to Asian ceramics.
Asiatica: Asiatische Keramik by Galerie Koller Zürich — $28.49 An auction catalogue from Galerie Koller Zurich (1983), titled Asiatica: Asiatische Keramik, devoted to Asian ceramics.
Asiatica: Asiatische Keramik by Galerie Koller Zürich — $28.49 An auction catalogue from Galerie Koller Zurich (1984), titled Asiatica: Asiatische Keramik, devoted to Asian ceramics.
Wucius Wong: Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings and Prints — $48.19 An exhibition catalogue of paintings, drawings and prints by the Hong Kong artist Wucius Wong, published by the Urban Council and Hong Kong Museum of Art in 1979.
Der Chinesische Farbendruck by Dr. Julius Kurth — $21.85 Der Chinesische Farbendruck, by Dr. Julius Kurth, published by C. F. Schulz & Co. (1922), in German.
Chinese Art, Volume I & II by S.W. Bushell, C.M.G. — $66.50 A two-volume survey of Chinese art by Stephen W. Bushell, published for the Victoria and Albert Museum; the volumes here are dated 1910 and 1914.
De Verboden Stad/The Forbidden City by Various — $23.75 An exhibition catalogue on the Forbidden City in Beijing, published by the Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam, in 1990, with its title given in Dutch and English on the cover.
Transactions of The Oriental Ceramic Society Vol. 64. 1999-2000 — $39.89 Volume 64 (1999-2000) of the Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, the annual journal of the London society devoted to the study of Chinese and other Asian ceramics and related arts.
Transactions of The Oriental Ceramic Society Vol. 52 1987-1988 — $31.35 Volume 52 (1987-1988) of the Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, the annual journal of the London society devoted to the study of Chinese and other Asian ceramics and related arts.
Transactions of The Oriental Ceramic Society Vol. 49, 1984-1985 — $39.89 Volume 49 (1984-1985) of the Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, the annual journal of the London society devoted to the study of Chinese and other Asian ceramics and related arts.
Transactions of The Oriental Ceramic Society Vol. 55, 1990-1991 — $39.89 Volume 55 (1990-1991) of the Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, the annual publication of the London-based society, which prints papers read to its members on Chinese and other East Asian ceramics.
Transactions of The Oriental Ceramic Society Vol. 54, 1989-1990 — $39.89 Volume 54 (1989-1990) of the Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, the annual publication of the London-based society, which prints papers read to its members on Chinese and other East Asian ceramics.
Exhibition of Special China-Peking Arts & Crafts by K. H. Leung, Sam Manatt — $11.30 An exhibition catalogue titled Exhibition of Special China-Peking Arts & Crafts (Tamar Productions, 1979), by K. H. Leung and Sam Manatt, in English.
Transactions of The Oriental Ceramic Society Vol. 63, 1998-1999 — $39.89 Volume 63 (1998-1999) of the Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, the annual journal of the London-based Oriental Ceramic Society, which publishes papers read to its members on Chinese and other Asian ceramics…
Confidential Sheng Qi by Sheng Qi — $7.55 An art book on the Chinese artist Sheng Qi (born 1965), Confidential, published by Timezone 8 in 2006 (92 pages).
Chinese Art by R. L. Hobson, Intro. — $19.00 Chinese Art, a Spring Books hardcover with an introduction by R. L. Hobson.
China's Best Arts and Crafts Volume 1 No. 1 1980 by Josiah Lau — $6.65 China's Best Arts & Crafts, Volume 1, Number 1 (1980), a Guangdong Province special issue published by Sino International Trade Promotion Company, with Josiah Lau credited as author.
KWANGTUNG PAINTING Landscapes, Figures, Plants & Animals by SHEN, Chuang and Laurence C.S. Tam — $8.92 Kwangtung Painting: Landscapes, Figures, Plants and Animals by Shen Chuang and Laurence C. S. Tam (Urban Council, Hong Kong, 1973) is an exhibition publication on painting from Guangdong province (formerly romanized as…
Arts of Asia Magazine Lot of 8, 1983-1989 — $76.00 A run of eight issues of Arts of Asia, the Hong Kong magazine on Asian art, antiques and collecting, spanning 1983 to 1989.