The Trade
Zhangzhou China Archaeological Findings and Foreign Shipwrecked January 2015
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The Trade Zhangzhou China
Archaeological findings and Foreign Shipwrecked
1 Porcelain ‘ Swatow ‘ was described and discussed for the first time in a systematic way , in 1955 , when the Sr.ªKamer Aga- Oglu studied the collection of the University of Michigan in the USA. A catalog of existing extensacolecção in Princessehof Museum in Leeuwarden was published, Netherlands, for Hessel Miedema in 1963 , and porMrs Barbara Harrison in 1979. It was published a classification by shapes and types of decoration of Miedema pratospor in 1984 , who designed an instrument -measuring when the plates were placed upright in a structure to determine eexterior inner profiles. View Aga- Oglu , Kamer , ‘The Socalled ‘ Swatow’wares : Types and Problems of Provenance ‘ Far EasternCeramic Bulletin, Vol VII , No. 2 , 1955 , pp . . 1-37 ; HesselMiedema , Swatow : Catalogus [ van het ] GemeentelijkMuseum Het Princessehof [ you] Leeuwarden , Leeuwarden , 1963; Barbara Harrison , Swatow in het Princessehof : Theanalysis of a museum collection of Chinese trade waresfrom Indonesia , Leeuwarden , The Netherlands, 1979; and Miedema , Hessel , ‘A Typology of Swatow Dishes ‘ , Oriental Art , Vol.XXX , No. 1 (Spring 1984 ) , pp . 34-85 .
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Fig. 01 Head of a Female Deity Light brown stoneware Khmer, Cambodia, Baphuon period, century. XI
T 19cm
he provenance of China’s distinctive porcelain set for export presented in this exhibition , porcelain known as’ Swatow ‘ , has not been identified for a long time , raising great interest and giving rise to debate among scholars and collectors of many countries.1 ‘ Swatow ‘ is the most common name for the blue and white pieces of this type of porcelain , but other names include ‘ china southern China ‘,’ Canton china ‘,’ porcelain Fujian ‘or’ porcelain unknown origin ‘ in Japan . this type of porcelain decorated in polychrome enamels was known as ‘ Wuxu porce-
lain with red decoration ‘ . 2 The term ‘ Swatow ‘ derives from the ancient name transliteration of Shantou ( Swatow in Dutch records ) , a port in northern Guangdong province in southern China, located near the border with the province of Fujian. This name was based on the misguided belief that this porcelain was exported tada Shantou , however being proven now that the port was active only from the Qing Dynasty. 3 Although the term ‘ Swatow ‘ is traditionally used by academics and collective Western cionadores for identification of such parts, is misleading. 4 Following the discoveries and archaeological research carried out between 1994 and 1997 on the sites of the mayors ovens ture of Zhangzhou, to the west of Xiamen ( Amoy ) in Fujian province and bordering Guangdong province , researchers Chinese introduced the concept of furnaces ‘ Zhangzhou ‘ .
Excavations and preliminary research has shown that many producers ovens Zhangzhou porcelain ( Swatow ) were active simultaneously. The excavated ovens emMt . Wanyao in Huazilou in Nansheng , and Dalong and Erlong in Wuzhai , all in the canton of Pinghe , Zhangzhou Prefecture , were some of the furnaces that manufactured this type of porcelain . 5 This porcelain was produced in special ovens assets between approximately segundametade the sixteenth century and the first half of the seventeenth century , and exported in large quantities, possibly the port of Yuegang (the “ Port of the Moon ‘ ) , in Zhangzhou , to Japan to southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia , the Philippines, Malaysia and Borneo and , in smaller quantities, to Europe. Unfortunately, it is not yet possible to determine a timeline needs in relation to sites ovens. It is additional research and new archaeological discoveries to resolve outstanding issues. For example, a series of this type of porcelain pieces are not represented among the materials recovered from the furnace and is thus not yet possible to determine its source. It is likely to have been produced in ovens not previously documented such as elsewhere kilns in Pinghe Canton or other Fujian regiõesem. In this respect, it is important to mention that the research preliminarna adjacent province of Guangdong has shown that similar types of porcelain were also produced in the ovens of Raoping and Dapu, located east of província.6 Porcelain Zhangzhou (Swatow) type produced in Zhangzhou kilns, differs greatly from delicate porcelain produced in Jingedezhen in Jiangxi province. The painting épouco sophisticated decor, and often rough. Can- be observed differences between parts emtermos decorating style, blue or enamels in the glaze at the base, and other details, but all contribute to the character and distinctive charm of this type of porcelain. Free and spontaneous Aspinceladas used for application of decorative designs ensure Ustell that there are no two identical copies. Although these pieces share with other parts daChina south, a number of similar features, including
the heavy porcelain and espessae refined acabamentopouco can be identified immediately by your decoraçãoimaginativa style, free and painter himself and the varied repertoire of schematic drawings on gross umaporcelana. The glazing and its method of use of excessive rough sand oven sãoduas characteristics also differ from other types of Southern porcelain pieces. Since we recognize this type of porcelain basically comes decorated, will group under the dishes and pots Zhangzhou (Swatow) this exhibition. Will be divided into trêsgrupos: blue and white decor with engobing, and polychrome enamel, empregandoesta last a specific palette of glazes fer rouge, turquoise, green and black on ovidrado. Although the exhibition does not include any parts or monochrome monocromáticascom incised decoration pieces, they will be discussed in the following pages of this introdução.Esta introduction is scheduled to compile information on the archaeological findings maisrecentes and materials recovered from excavations in China and Japan, and on arqueológicosmarítimos findings, exploring the role that these Zhangzhou kilns played naprodução of porcelain for the export market.
Historical Context During the Ming and Qing dynasties the porcelain production in Fujian province flourished, Zhangzhou and Dehua being the main production centers. The Zhangzhou area is located in the southern part of Fujian Province, and includes the river Jiulong, the second largest river in the province (see map), which
Fig. 02 Head of a Female Deity Light brown stoneware Khmer, Cambodia, Baphuon period, century. XI 19cm
2 For this view, see Li Jian’an , ‘ Archaeological Findingsof Export Porcelain in Ancient Fujian ‘ , in Brian McElney , Chinese Ceramics & The Maritime Trade Pre -1700 , exhibition catalog , The Museum of East Asian Art , Bath , 2006: . 67 . 3 For this view, see Rita Tan , ‘The Müller Collection ofChinese Ceramics at The Baur Museum’, Arts of Asia , vol.34 , No. 3 , 2004, p . 94 . 4 In the year 1954, the author T. Volker suggested that the name was misleading and should be abolished . See T.Volker , Porcelain and the Dutch East India Company asrecorded in the Dagh -Registers of Batavia Castle , Those of Hirado and Deshima and other contemporary papers1602-1682 , Leiden , 1954 , p. 194 . 5 See , Fujian sheng Bowuguan , Zhangzhou Fujian Sheng Yao ( Zhangzhou Kilns ) , Fuzhou , Fujian, Ren Min Chu ban she , 1997, p. 94 . 6 Information about Raoping materials was published in ‘ Zhongguo gu yaozhi diaocha fajue baogao ji ( ACollection of Reports on Surveys and Excavations of OldChinese Kiln Sites ) ‘ , Wenwu chubanshe , Beijing, 1982.Para the Dapu materials, see the edition special published by the Fujian Museum in Fujian Wenbo , 1999. We thank Prof. Li Jian’an the Archaeology Institute of FujianProvincial Museum , who was the director of the excavations of Zhangzhou kilns , for this valuable information
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Fig. 03 Lokapala (Guardian) Terracotta and pigments China, Tang Dynasty (618-907) 35 x 84cm
7 For these views , see Li Min, Fragments ofGlobalisation : Chinese Blue and White Porcelain in EarlyColonial Philippines , dissertation presented in the Indo- Pacific 18ºCongresso Prehistory Association ( IPPA ), Manila , Philippines , 2006, p . 11 . 8 Personal communication with Professor Li Jian’an . 9 For surveys on the locations of furnaces in Huazilou , Nansheng in Pinghe of Canton ; in Xiangkou , Wuzhai , also in Pinghe of Canton ; and Mt. Longzi ; and Dongxi in Huaan Canton ; see , Fujian sheng Bowuguan , 1997; Fujiansheng Bowuguan Kaogubu (Fujian ProvincialMuseum , Department of Archaeology ) ;
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provides the ceramic industry a convenient river transport region for five ports on the coast , the eastern cove crossing Zhao’an, the cove Lu through minimum Zhangpu, and the river that runs through Zhang Yunxiao. The rise of Zhangzhou producers was mainly due to historical, political, economic and technical conditions met in the zone. Historically, and comparatively, the Zhangzhou area developed early, when the Tang court established a province in about 686, with government offices in Yunxiao. In 786 of these offices were moved to the canton of Longxi, the administrative city. During the Yuan period (1279-1368) was built a road. In 1348 the Yuan court established a military command in Zhangzhou. During the Ming period (1368-1644) reopened the offices of emZhangzhou prefecture. In 1567 these offices ruled ten cantons: Longxi, Zhangpou, Longyan, Changtai, Pinghe, Nanjing, Zhangping, Zhaoan, Heicheng, and Ningyang. During periods of Song (960-1279), Yuan (1279-1368), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911),
were continuously built ovens and porcelain produced in large scale in Zhangzhou area. The Zhangzhou porcelain-producing factories had their rise in a time of political chaos in China, during the change of power in the late Ming and early fall of central government Qing.A dynasty destroyed the entire trading system of East and South Asia, previously controlled, causing the reappearance of trade in the form of a private system. The court was therefore less able to limit foreign trade, and even before the arrival of Europeans, the port of Yuegang, in the prefecture of Zhangzhou, found himself involved in the illicit maritime trade. At that time, most of the vessels partiamde Yuegang were bound for the Philippines, a trip of about 15 to 20 days. In 1567, oImperador Longqing (1567-1572) raised the penalty to trade, opened the Yuegang port eautorizou private trade with foreign countries, provided the Chinese private traders obtain an export permit and pay a tax. 7 The transformation of Yuegang an international trade center had a direct effect on the development of the international market and consequently on the export-oriented porcelain industry. Large amounts of blue and white porcelain, especially of large plates produced in Jingdezhen for the export market, had created a taste and a specific demand for decorated porcelain. To provide the international market expansion and to profit from this business venture, private manufacturers of porcelain começarama produce the next Zhangzhou areas. The trade of porcelain proliferated in the late sixteenth century, especially the blue and white pieces, at a time when production in Jingdezhen was in crisis. Were turbulent times for the imperial kilns, where otrabalho of the palace orders had, once again, to be engaged in workshops particulares.Devido the rarity of the raw materials and the growing tension between the government inspectors and porcelain producers, arose riots in 1597, and again in 1604, during the Wanli emperor reinadodo (1573-1620), which resulted in the destruction of imperial workshops. Since the periods Song (960-1279) and Yuan
(1279-1368), Zhangzhou zone had many ovens, some of which porcelain for producing foreign consumption. The Zhangzhou area was an important area of the southern coast, relatively rich in kaolin, with fuel resources and an established tradition of manufacturing porcelain and foreign trade. Later, due to changes in these historical conditions, the Zhangzhou factories, after a period of prosperity, have declined. After the collapse of the Ming Dynasty, em1644, the Qing government imposed a strict ban on exports between 1645 and 1660, to eradicate loyal resistance Ming nourished by the maritime powers. This ban was an imperial edict reforçadapor in 1662 that required all land near the coast were evacuated from human inhabitants. These historical events should be seriously affected production and export porcelain in the provinces of Fujian and Guangdong, and may have caused the end of production in Zhangzhou kilns around mid-century XVII.8 Fig. 04 Lokapala (Guardian) Terracotta and pigments China, Tang Dynasty (618-907) 35 x 84cm
Archaeological research the furnaces Zhangzhou: Short Review Research on porcelain of Zhangzhou area began in mid-1950 after many years of dedicated efforts, the researchers discovered gradually over 50 local furnaces in Zhangzhou area dating from the Song Dynasties to Qing. The locations of the ovens periods of Song and Yuan, mainly producing gray-green porcelain, are located mostly in the cantons of Zhangpu, Changtai,
Yunxiao, Zhaoan, Dongshan, and Longhai. The ovens periods of the Ming and Qing concentrated in the cantons of Pinghe, Huaan, Nanjing, and Zhaoan, although they were also made some archaeological finds in the cantons of Yunxiao and Zhangpu. 9 Zhangzhou kilns were popular, mainly producing blue and white porcelain, but also gray-green porcelain white and color glazes (such as blue, brown, yellow and black glaze, etc.) as well as porcelain enamel on the glaze, including wucai and tri susancai or diffuse, and a combination of blue and under glaze enamels on glaze. Were used other techniques to porcelain decoration, including framing technique, recording, printing and engobar. In the report on the investigation into the furnaces of the local Ming and Qing period, in Pinghe, and the cantons of Nanjing, Yunxiao, Zhaoan, and Zhangpu, it is inferred that the furnace did not start before the Wanli period,
PinghexianBowuguan ( Pinghe County Museum ) , Pinghexian MingmoQingchu Qinghuaci yaozhi diaocha ( Survey of the Blueand -White Porcelain Kiln Sites of the End of the MingPeriod and the Beginning of the Period of Qing Pinghe County ) ; and Li Jian’an , “ Dongxi yao diaocha jilüe “ (Summary Report of the Survey of the Kilns of Dongxi ) , Fujian Wenbo , Taoci zhuanji (Special Issue on Ceramics ) 1993 No. 1-2 . We thank Prof. Li Jian’an have provided us this bibliographical information . 10 Fujian sheng Bowuguan , 1997, p. 110 .
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Fig. 05 Guanyin Wood with polychrome China, Qing Dynasty (1640-1912) 80 x 117cm
11 For full report on the archaeological findings of this research , see , Fujian sheng Bowuguan 1997 . 12 Helen spiro ( ed.), “ The Discovery of Making Kilns “ Swatow’Type wares at Pinghe in Fujian Province “, Transactions ofthe Oriental Ceramic Society , Vol . 60, 19951996 , p. 37 . 13 To develop this type of furnace , see RoseKerr (ed . ), Science and Civilization in China , Vol 5, PartXII : . Ceramic Technology , Cambridge, 2004 , pp . 360-64 .
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the Ming Dynasty (1573-1619) and continued at most to the period of Shunzhi (1644-61) in the early Qing dynasty. It is said that the Dongxi oven in the canton of Huaan, halted production in late Ming - early Qing Dynasty. 10 Although the documentary records suggest that the history of Zhangzhou kilns could have started already in the first half of the Ming period, it is difficult to confirm this hows limited archaeological materials that were recovered from the excavations to date. During this period of production, the future of the furnaces in Pinghe and other cantons, as well as the Dongxi furnaces in Huaan, was alternating between periods of prosperity and decline, reflecting its inevitable uneven historical development. However, considering the number of sites in Zhangzhou furnaces, a large scale of production, and the time span over which operated, it is possible to conclude furnaces must be produced queestes A great deal porcelain.
From the 1990s, were investigated important archaeological sites and places of kilns in the area of Zhangzhou, including the locations of kilns were discovered in 1984 in the municipal districts of Nansheng and Wuzhai in the canton of Pinghe, and the site of an oven Huaan in canton. Some ovens, such as the cantons of Zhangpu, Nanjing, Pinghe, Zhaoan and Huaan, contain archaeological remains spread over a large area and at a very high accumulation graude, indicating a considerable production for the season. This research has shown that the ovens of these areas of Zhangzhou were primarily involved in the production of porcelanapara external consumption. This is further evidenced by the fact that it was found in China a very small amount of Zhangzhou porcelain, while on the other hand, we found many copies of the same abroad. The combined archaeological materials in these investigations led to the identification of local defornos in Nansheng and Wuzhai in the canton of Pinghe, as the main production centers in Zhangzhou porcelain. The Pinghe Canton is located west of Zhangzhou Prefecture, and lies amontante Yuegang the river. In the eastern part of the canton, the valleys and plateaus of the river lie between low mountains and small elevations. The river Huashan, which runs from southwest to northwest, is the main watercourse crossing the canton of Nanjing and into the western arm Dorio Jiulong. So far, were found more than ten local furnaces in Canton, most of which are located in the area of the municipalities of Nansheng and Wuzhai, southeast (see Fig. 1). In 1994-1995 the Fujian Provincial Museum, funded by Japanese patrons, carried out archaeological excavations in five ovens of three excavation sites in the canton of Pinghe: Huazilou in Nansheng, and Dalong and Erlong in Wuzhai. 11 were excavated three furnaces in Mt. Wanyao in Huazilou, a hearth in Dalong and in Erlong in Wuzhai. Fragments of these sites in Pinghe are now preserved in the Museum Fuzhou, Fuzhou (capital of Fujian Province) and Xiamen Museum, on the island of Gulangyu in Xiamen (Amoy) .12
These five remote location ovens are ovens with differently chamber with steps, developed from the traditional dragon kilns (or slope) of southern China.13 These furnaces resemble clearly, in terms of design, with a maximum three chambers larger in width than depth. Although they vary in terms of timing, all belong to the same historical period. 14 Whereas these particular ovens had a considerable production and are mentioned in local chronicles, 15 is likely quetivessem a degree of influence at the time. Considering also that were in mauestado, the excavated area was relatively small and the archaeological material recovered limitado.A history of the development and evolution of the furnaces in Zhangzhou factories and their aspectogeral is not yet well known. Many questions, such as special dedecoração characteristics, types of porcelain, different formats and different techniques, awaiting aindaa systematic excavation, research and publication deconclusões. Preliminary results show that producers deZhangzhou used a distinct industrial technology parafacilitar mass production, and that the level of trabalhomanual was quite weak. Although there are variants emdiferentes local kilns and at the production, quandose compares the skill and technology used to carregare bake porcelain can be distinguished in some grandesdiferenças emJingdezhen production methods used and Zhangzhou. As already mentioned, aporcelana was produced in large furnaces with emdegrau cooking chambers could significativamentemaiores quantities of containers of the smaller ovens, egg-shaped and pumpkin, utilizadosem Jingdezhen (see Fig. 2). Producers of Zhangzhou often applied the glaze after molding the base ring, leaving him so completely covered with glaze, increasing the risk depegar the surface of Saggar during cooking. In contrast, producers of Jingdezhen applied the glaze first and then scraped the edge of the base ring, giving you a faceted or rounded shape. Producers of Zhangzhou usually reversed the dishes and lay it on the glazed container in a fast spinning wheel, which had resulted in an irregular glaze, while the production of Jingdezhen
Fig. 06 Guanyin Wood with polychrome China, Qing Dynasty (1640-1912) 80 x 117cm
dipped their plates and bowls to the edge for applying a regular glaze . The producers used a Zhangzhou Saggar in formade M as a basic tool for baking most parts. The larger pieces, such as large plates and bowls were placed in one work alone Saggar and baked in the oven. Several smaller parts such as cups and small plates were put together in a Saggar for cooking. The Zhangzhou producers usually put the container directly on a thick rough layer of sand, which had been scattered in Saggar background to set apart pieces. Consequently, all the parts, except the Saggar put together, have rough sand grip the bases, bases and sides of the rings in varying amounts (see Figs. 3a and 3b). These pieces were called ‘parts sanded base’. To prevent the sand if he caught the container, producers of Jingdezhen put a support under each container to avoid contact with the Saggar, and often pressed the thin layer of sand on the bottom plane of Saggar. 16 The cooking
ww14 For this view, see Fujian sheng Bowuguan , 1997, p. 92 . 15 The ovens are mentioned in Zhangzhoufu zhi ( Annals deZhangzhoufu ) and Pinghexian zhi ( Annals of Pinghe Canton ) . This information was taken from Ibid . , P. 95 , footnote 10 . 16 For these views , see Min, 2006, p. 24 .
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Fig. 07 Standing Buddha stucco Hariphunchai (?) Thailand, circa century. XIII 79cm
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process used by the Zhangzhou producers was difficult and the technology proved inadequate, since many great dishes excavated to have bent, deformed and warped, or if they stuck to Saggar or sand layer (see Fig. 4 and entry No. 31). The archaeological material dug excavation sites in the Mt. Wanyao in Huazilou, Dalong in an oven, and in a Erlong in Wuzhai was basically a coarse china, porcelain compared produced in Jingdezhen. The variety of shapes and limitavas mainly to large plates, bowls, platters and small, in two basic ways. In the furnace of Mt. Wanyao in Huazilou, met mainly large dishes and in the Dalonge Erlong in Wuzhai, bowls and small dishes. Other parts found in Mt. Wanyaoincluem platters, bowls, pots, mortars, vases, lamps and covers, all executed with thick porcelain and produced in huge quantities, with very different characteristics. While the formats were limited, there were many variants in decorating styles. The porcelain body parts of the excavated sites Nansheng Wuzhai furnace and is generally soft and thick, grayish white and not pure white, and some holes visible bubbles. The excavated porcelain kiln site of Mt. Wanyao, is grayish white, with a delicate and compact texture. The
furnace Erlong location in Wuzhai seems more delicate and thinner whiter. The porcelain body of these parts do not have high translucency of mass used in Jingdezhen. Manual work is crude and careless. The format of Figs parts. 3a and 3b -Tardoz base and two large plates Zhangzhou (Swatow) with adhesions rough sand on the bases, edges of the bases and walls Final century XVI - XVII century Jorge Welsh Oriental Porcelain and Works of Art, London, Lisbon these furnaces or are for daily use (such as plates, bowls or platters) or exposure (such as pots or vases) is pretty standard. The formats were achieved by throwing the dough to a rotating wheel, using templates, and manually. The parts produced on the wheel range from large plates fifty centimeters in diameter (the Huazilou oven site) to small pots. Some of the great dishes and Huazilou oven bowls have rings caused by the wheel. These rings are not normally in the large plates and bowls of Erlong kiln site in Wuzhai, or Dongxi oven at Huaan canton. The work on the basis of the parts is standard, but some of the great dishes appear a small bulge in nozzle at the base, or a rough scar where it was cut. The base ring of blue and white dishes excavated in Huazilou is generally oblique outside and right inside. But the ring of the base plates decorated with the enamels on glaze may be oblique inside and outside or outside and straight oblique inside. Â The blue color of the decoration ranges from a bluish gray, bluish black, and rarely black or dark blue. The glaze has a clear and transparent shine, and sometimes lĂŠ playmaker. Most often the glaze does not cover the circular base, and when the glazed porcelain body is not exposed has a reddish brown or light point or, in most cases, the natural color of porcelain. Some of the smaller pieces such as small cups and trays are glazed backwards, and the circular base of the glaze is shaved and the exposed porcelain body arestada the base, but the majority of these containers exhibit a shaved area in the middle of the piece in order to prevent the pieces from sticking to each other when stacked and fired. The circular area within the large plates of base
ring is normally smooth, but there are differences in the glazing methods oven to oven. For example, the large plates removed from Huazilou oven excavations are often irregularly glazed part of the circular base, and some parts are dotted with glaze, giving the impression that they were glazed carelessly. Great dishes excavated the Dalong oven are also glazed, but Erlong oven excavated are glazed on a regular basis within the circular base. These latter dishes were glazed might not leak out using the method of the glaze over the part, but it dipping. The blue and white porcelain was by far the most common among these five containers excavated ovens. The designs used in its decoration are rich and varied and reflect their historical development and changes in artistic styles. Although many of the designs were heavily influenced by the designs of blue and white pieces produced in kilns of Jingdezhen popular from the mid-Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty and sometimes to imitate the designs of the parts produced in Jingdezhen, were painted a quite relaxed and spontaneously, in contrast to the careful and delicate work of artists from Jingdezhen. Big blue and white dishes oven location of Mt. Wanyao in Huazilou are mostly decorated with phoenixes among peonies, peacocks among peonies, or waterfowl in lakes with lotus (see Fig. 5). Other designs include flowers and foliage (peonies and hydrangeas), mythical animals (such as qilin, dragons polled [chi], and lions), fish, mountain scenery and Chinese characters, such as tai [large], kui [Fair] , ya [stylish], yi ye qing fang [the delicate fragrance of a simple sheet]. Some dishes have smooth boilers and the center with swimming fish, waterfowl to pirouettes, phoenixes among flowers, or auspicious Chinese characters. The great majority of these beams have six, eight or nine panels around the edge. The composition of the central scene is drawn, the arrangement shows a clear separation of decorative motifs, and everything is painted in outline filled with delicate brush strokes (see entry No. 13). The color blue under the glaze in these parts varies from bluish gray to bluish and
Fig. 08 Standing Buddha stucco Hariphunchai (?) Thailand, circa century. XIII 79cm
dark blue black, and the glaze color is mostly light gray, green and white in some of them. Big blue and white dishes of Erlong furnace site are of a different artistic style: the provision is more sparse, with a lot of white space, and is painted with free, live and unrestricted strokes. The beading design on the board with panels. In its place, the edges have symmetrical arrangements of birds with flowers or decorative flowering moldings, painted a vivid artistic style. There have been excavated from the site Dalong furnace many blue and white plates, their shapes are similar to those of Erlong, and many of the designs are identical, such as between pine deer. Some designs, however, are similar to those of Mt. Wanyao Huazilou dishes, such as the central drawing and surrounded phoenixes peony panels with drawings. Some
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Fig. 09 flat-boat silver Mexico century. XVI / XVII 17.5 x 11cm
17 Ver, Yao Chengqing et al., “Shi tan Guangchang Jinian Muchutu de qinghuaci pan” (A Tentative Discussion of theBlue-and-White Large Plates Excavated at the Jinian Tombin Guangchang), Jiangxi wenwu, 1990, N º 2.
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of the dishes and small beams of the three sites excavated ovens have the same designs or similar drawings (such as Fo lion-dog with the celestial sphere, herons in a lotus pond, or the Chinese character fu [good luck] oushou [long life]. the drawings of deer among pines and waterfowl in a lotus pond in the big blue and white dishes of these three sites ovens are similar to those contained large blue and white dishes excavated the tomb in Jinian Guangchang canton, Jiangxi Province, dating from the late Ming [Wanli period (1573-1619) the period Chongzhen (1628-1644)]. 17 However, the drawing treatment and the quality of stroke are not as delicate or executed as carefully. the great dishes found in Dongxi kiln site in Huaan canton are often decorated with peonies between rocky mountains, autumn foliage or magnolias with poetry or evocative images of the past. While these designs are meticulously executed, the artistic style looks quite erased. At present it
is extremely difficult to determine whether the differences in decorative designs, as well as the manufacture and the glaze, evident in the big blue and white dishes of Mt. Wanyao in Huazilou, and Dalong and Erlong in Wuzhai, reflect the time or expertise changes production. The bowls of local furnaces of the cantons of Pinghe, Zhaoan, Zhangpu, Yunxiao and Nanjing are often decorated on the inside with intertwined flowers, a Fo dog to play with the celestial sphere, herons in a lotus pond, wreaths, foliage, mountains and streams, human figures, or Chinese characters, all painted with free, live and spontaneous brushstrokes. The bowls of Dongxi kiln site in Huaan Canton are decorated inside with exotic stones and flowers, the Jade Hare (a legendary creature), mountains and streams, intertwined flowers, human figures and Chinese characters. The Fo Dog designs, herons in a lotus pond and wreaths are rare. Although the designs are painted with perfect precision, seem to be hard. Many of these pieces have a subscription and a signature on the circular base glazed. It is rare to find Pinghe Canton pieces with this type of
signature. Some examples of this type were excavated from Huazilou kiln site in Nansheng. The parts with the decoration glaze over the glaze are another distinct group of parts produced in Zhangzhou kilns. Are basically decorated with red enamel and some green. Red is also used in combination with a small amount of brown, yellow, or black, to produce an effect in bright colors with soft tones. Parts with this type of decoration were only found among the archaeological finds of the sites of Huazilou furnaces in Nansheng (see Fig. 6), Mt. Wanyao and Tian Zhongyang, in Wuzhai, all in Pinghe Canton, and Huotian in Canton of Yunxiao. Most found enamelled pieces are large plates, decorated in the center with flowers and birds, phoenixes among peonies and seal impressions. Bowls were found decorated with enamels on the glaze, painted with flowers and birds and Chinese characters in Huotian furnace in Yunxiao Canton. The few pieces with enamel decoration over glaze, excavated the Dongxi furnace in Huaan Canton, are painted in dull shades of red enamel, green and black with plenty of hard drawings, mainly illustrating
Fig. 09 flat-boat silver Mexico century. XVI / XVII 17.5 x 11cm
flowers and foliage. The designs on the glaze in these parts are removed easily with wear. In Huazilou oven local parts were found with Con bagens the white on brown and blue backgrounds. Among the porcelain recovered from oven dug in Wuzhai, met up great dishes with designs etched beneath blue or greenish glaze, and plates and bowls decorated with chrysanthemum petals printed on the upper surface and the inside face. A small number of large plates and dishes, glazed green-gray, was excavated the sites of furnaces Huazilou and Dalong. In Erlong were only found a mortar a utility object (see Fig. 7). The Zhangzhou kilns also produced parts with additional aesthetic charm in its format, including plates, dishes high on a pedestal (tazza) (see Fig. 13), sleepers, ribbed edges, small square dishes with lid, hexagonal boxes, octagonal jars, pots and small pieces in the shape of animals, such as Kendis in the form of a dragon (see Fig. 22).
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The London College UCK HNGD 109 Research Project 2014/2015 Ioana Goste 11965