Ceramics - the humble mix of earth, fire and artistry - have been part of a global conversation for millennia.
From Tang Dynasty trade routes to Renaissance palaces, from museum vitrines to high-stakes auction floors, they've carried culture across borders, evolving into status symbols, commodities and pieces of contested history. Their value has been shaped by aesthetics and economics, empire and, now, technology.
This figure visualizes 20 representative Chinese ceramic craftsmanship styles across seven historical periods, ranging from the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) to the Modern era (1913-2025). These styles, including kiln-specific categories and decorative techniques, were selected for their historical significance and visual distinctiveness for the AI's training dataset. Courtesy of Yanfeng Hu, Siqi Wu, Zhuoran Ma and Si Cheng. In a lab at University Putra Malaysia, that legacy meets silicon. Researchers there, alongside colleagues at UNSW Sydney, have built an AI system that can classify Chinese ceramics and predict their value with uncanny precision. The tool uses deep learning to analyze decorative motifs, shapes and kiln-specific craftsmanship. It predicts price categories based on real auction data from institutions like Sotheby's and Christie's, achieving test accuracy as high as 99%.
Beyond form, the AI also analyzes the intricate decorative patterns found on Chinese ceramics, which are organized into six major categories: plant patterns, animal motifs, landscapes, human figures, crackled glaze patterns and geometric designs. The system annotates images at the category level based on the most visually dominant pattern types. Courtesy of Yanfeng Hu, Siqi Wu, Zhuoran Ma, and Si Cheng. It's all powered by an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, a consumer-grade GPU beloved by gamers, explains Siqi Wu, one of the researchers behind the project. Not a data center, not specialized industrial hardware, just the same chip pushing frame rates for gamers enjoying Cyberpunk 2077 and Alan Wake 2 across the world.
The motivation is as old as the trade routes those ceramics once traveled: access, but in this case, access to expertise rather than material goods.
The AI system employs a typological classification system for ceramic vessel shapes, based on modular morphological parts like the bottle neck, handle, shoulder, spout, body and base. This approach allows for detailed analysis and classification of shapes such as bottles, jars, plates, bowls, cups, pots and washbasins. Courtesy of Yanfeng Hu, Siqi Wu, Zhuoran Ma and Si Cheng. Artifact pricing and dating still heavily rely on expert judgment, Wu said. That expertise remains elusive for younger collectors, smaller institutions and digital archive projects. Wu's team aims to change that by making cultural appraisal more objective, scalable and accessible to a wider audience.
It doesn't stop at classification. The system pairs its YOLOv11-based detection model with an algorithm that learned market value directly from years of real-world auction results. In one test, the AI assessed a Ming Dynasty artifact at roughly 30% below its final hammer price. It's a reminder that even in an industry steeped in tradition, algorithms can offer new perspectives.
Those perspectives don't just quantify heritage, they extend the conversation. The team is already exploring AI for other forms of cultural visual heritage, from Cantonese opera costumes to historical murals.
For now, a graphics card built for gaming is parsing centuries of craftsmanship and entering one of the world's oldest and most global debates: what makes something valuable?
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
Ceramics - the humble mix of earth, fire and artistry - have been part of a global conversation for millennia.
