In trying to pin down the porcelain in my head, I found some information about the Mongols and porcelain. It seems that the colors white and blue were predominantly used. Why blue and white? I can't find what it was about those specific colors that made them so easily accessible and transferrable.

Does anyone know anything about the porcelain paints of the period--about 1271 - 1360s? What they were made of and what we would properly call them other than "white" and "blue"?

There's gotta be more to this than meets the eye.

Broken receptacle,
WordWashed

I'm no expert on porcelain, but I've been to Meissen before. That's the place where (as far as I know) they make some of the best and most expensive (handmade) porcelain in Europe. We bought a little vase for about $100US: with a entire dinner set costing around $6-7 thousand. Their standard design also uses the cobalt blue underglaze. It always looks pretty hazy when one compares it to modern porcelain prints (like Villeroy & Bock)
Bottom of page shows an early design:http://www.bauerart.com/meissen2.html

I found this on the tradition of cobalt blue on white:

"Painting the porcelain surface may be done in several ways. One method is to use a colored glaze, such as the famous Chinese celadon. This glaze is a soft gray-green color. Another type of decoration is underglaze (designs painted on a piece before it is glazed). A deep blue made from the metal cobalt is the most dependable color used for underglazing. Cobalt blue has been widely used both in China and in Europe."
http://www.artistictile.net/pages/Info/Info_Porcelain.html