Underglaze Blue and White decoration was begun in China due to a shift in taste, during the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368). Among the first pieces decorated in Blue and White was large dishes made for Arab tradesmen in Persia, who also supplied the cobalt oxide needed for the decoration.
During the Yuan dynasty underglazed blue decoration began a rapid rise in popularity. It was applied on fine white porcelains and combined with Islamic decorative taste. These blue-and-white wares soon became the most popular of all Chinese ceramics, both at home and abroad. A pair of richly ornate temple vases dated 1351 (in the Percival David Foundation in London) are proof that the technique had been fully mastered by that time. The finest Jingdezhen examples were reserved for the court, but coarse varieties were made in southern China for trade with Southeast Asia or for export to the Middle East.Both the shapes and decoration of Yuan blue-and-white have a characteristic boldness. The motifs are richly varied, sometimes crowded and unrestrained, but at their best they have great splendour and vitality. Favourite motifs include the lotus, vines, and dragons that had already appeared on the shufu wares, creatures such as the qilin ("unicorn") and longma ("dragon-horse"), fish, and Daoist figures. Also popular for a while were scenes from historical dramas and romances written by unemployed Confucian scholars.
During the following Ming dynasty (1368-1644) blue and white decoration developed and grew in fame. By the end of the Ming the first westerners had reached the shores of the Middle Kingdom and the man made porcelain jewels of the East got fitted in gold and silver and was stored in treasure cabinets of the European Royal palaces. While the best pieces were used as Royal gifts between Emperors also the common people in China had their own Blue and White porcelain the min yao or 'peoples ware' of great artistic interest. The porcelain development over the centuries closely mirrors the changes in society. Of special interest are the earliest western markets export wares, the 'Kraak' porcelain made for the Portuguese and later for the Dutch, market.
The first Europeans to import Chinese porcelain and even to have it made to their own specifications were the Portuguese in the 16th century, closely followed by the Dutch and the British in the early 17th century. With the advent of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) the western export took a great leap with a greatly expanded trade, which led to the introduction of as numerous as baffling shapes, colors as well as decorations both within China as on the export markets. Most famous of all export patterns was the Willow Pattern which was developed in an exchange of ideas between China and England.
From the mid 19th century and onwards it appears as most Chinese porcelain was made as white blanks to be after decorated in colored enamels creating a division of labor between the massive ceramic industry that produced porcelain out of clay, and the smaller, often down to family size, decorators studies that added the colorful enamel decorations at a second firing in smaller muffel kilns.
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