Following in the steps of The Colors and Forms of Song and Yuan China, a pioneering exhibition organized by the Nezu Institute of Fine Arts in Tokyo and covering the full spectrum of lacquerware, ceramics, and metalwork, the present publication, which was made possible by the Museum fur Lackkunst and the Fondation Baur, seeks to shed light on the phenomenon of monochromy in its technical and aesthetic aspects against the background of the social context and the influences of Song tea culture.

Following in the steps of The Colors and Forms of Song and Yuan China, a pioneering exhibition organized by the Nezu Institute of Fine Arts in Tokyo and covering the full spectrum of lacquerware, ceramics, and metalwork, the present publication, which was made possible by the Museum fur Lackkunst and the Fondation Baur, seeks to shed light on the phenomenon of monochromy in its technical and aesthetic aspects against the background of the social context and the influences of Song tea culture.