Broken porcelain pieces become stunning artworks at China's Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln

Have you ever seen porcelain made from broken pieces?

At the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Institute in east China's Jiangxi Province, that's exactly what's on display – almost all the exhibits were pieced together and restored from porcelain shards, allowing visitors to appreciate the unique aesthetics of brokenness.

During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Jingdezhen was home to an imperial factory that made pottery and porcelain for the imperial court. This facility, later becoming known as the Imperial Kiln, upheld strict selection standards – any finished product with the tiniest flaw would be smashed into pieces and buried on the premises.

Today, archaeologists have painstakingly pieced together the unearthed porcelain fragments, restoring the original appearance of the pottery. The traces of breaking and splicing offer visitors a unique perspective, allowing them to observe details that can't be seen on a complete piece.

Check out the video to appreciate the beauty of these unique porcelain pieces.

(Intern Xing Yawen contributed to this story.)