Ceramic Bas—Reliefs of the Divine Comedy：A Gift from Italian Master Engo Babini

The aim of the China Jingdezhen International Ceramic Fair （CJICF）， held annually since 2004， is to promote ceramic cultural exchanges and world ceramic development. Over a hundred foreign ceramists attended in 2009， when Engo Babini， a famous Italian carving master， introduced his elaborately created ceramic bas-reliefs of the Divine Comedy to enhance Sino-Italian friendship and ceramic cultural exchanges.

At the opening ceremony， he spoke on behalf of foreign participants， saying excitedly they had come to this wonderful fair in Jingdezhen， the home of porcelain， to display their best works. He expressed his sincere wish that all participants would take the opportunity to realize common development of the ceramic industry and culture.

The Italian craftsman said he looked forward to exchanges with ceramic experts in the city. In his words， oriental inspiration and western ideas should complement and be shared with each other so as to play a leading role in innovation and development of world ceramic culture and art.

The Divine Comedy， the epic poem written by the famous Italian poet Dante Alighieri between 1307 and 1321， is composed of 14，000 lines in three parts — Hell， Purgatory， and Paradise. The poet uses fantastic stories and metaphorical symbolisms to depict his experiences of travel in hell and purgatory to reveal the sin of theocracy in the church at that time and express people’s opposition to the shackles of feudalism and evil forces within the church. The poem， written in rich and vivid language， played a great role in the development of the Renaissance and the productive forces of capitalism and in unifying Italy’s ethnic languages and literature.

From 1991 to 1993， using great creativity and skill， Babini turned the infinite space and fantasies described in the Divine Comedy into a hundred ceramic bas-relief tiles， each depicting a theme from a section or chapter. His works vividly represent and interpret the great poem of Dante. The fact that he gave this ceramic works to Jingdezhen as a gift showed deep friendly sentiment towards the Chinese people.

During his visit to Jingdezhen， he had exchanges with many local experts. He knew that in the Yuan Dynasty， the famed Italian traveler Marco Polo had wanted to visit Jingdezhen， but failed due to poor transportation at that time； that in the Ming Dynasty， Matteo Ricci， a scientist and missionary， visited Jingdezhen； and that in the Qing Dynasty， Giuseppe Castiglione who served as a court painter introduced Western painting artistry to the Chinese senior ceramic painters in the Management Office of the Qing Court and imperial kilns.

Hence， Babini had wished to visit Jingdezhen for many years and had finally realized his long cherished dream. During his stay， he visited the Porcelain Carving Workshop and the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute， had exchanges with ceramists， and appreciated their works mirroring famous Chinese poems and albums of famous carving works. He learned the different styles and specialties of ancient and modern works of Jingdezhen， and appreciated works by Chinese masters of ceramic art， such as Liu Yuanchang， Tang Ziqiang， Xiong Gangru and Professor Zhuo Guozhen of the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute.

He felt their lifelike and vivid portrayal of things were characteristic of the unique charm of oriental art. Their modern ceramics were creative combinations of oriental inspiration and western ideas， he believed.

On October 20， the third day of the fair， municipal leaders gave Babini a ceramic sculpture entitled Spring by master Liu Yuanchang as a gift in return.

After returning home， to enhance Italian people’s understanding of Chinese ceramics， Babini vigorously promoted the CJICF and publicized the great development of ceramic industry and culture in Jingdezhen. He also made quite a few ceramic carving works to further ceramic art exchanges between Italy and China. In 2011， he took 18 pieces from his ceramic carvings to the CJICF， which were displayed in the China Jingdezhen Porcelain Museum and received high praise from Chinese and foreign craftsmen and experts.

During the fair， he expressed his willingness to continue to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with Chinese ceramists， create works reflecting the new times and promote common prosperity of ceramic culture and art of Italy and China.

Note： The CJICF is hosted by China’s Ministry of Commerce， China Light Industry Association， the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the Jiangxi Provincial People’s Government， and involving participation by ceramic manufacturers and buyers from China and other countries.