Southeast Asia / Other Ceramics
Southeast Asia / Other Ceramics
Page 1
Southeast Asia / Other Ceramics
Object 2012618
Dish
Annamese (Vietnamese)
c.1500
Height 73 mm (2.87 inch), diameter 368 mm (14.49 inch), diameter of footring 205 mm (8.07 inch), weight 2,002 grams (70.62 ounce (oz.))
Dish on footring, spreading sides, narrow flat rim with raised edge. Decorated in a strong underglaze blue with a large leafy lotus spray on the sides flower heads with scrolls. The edge unglazed. On the reverse a band of lotus panels containing leaf-forms.
The Chinese conquest under the leadership of the emperor Yong Le between 1407 and 1427 had a great effect on Vietnamese culture. Although he wanted to encourage overseas trade, the trade was bound up in so many unpopular rules which were designed to fill the treasure chests in Peking, that in practice trade stagnated. It was therefore not until 1480 that the Chinese export of ceramics was once able to compete with that of Thailand and Vietnam. Blue underglaze decorations were found very early on in Vietnamese ceramics but only really developed during the 15th century. Due to the Chinese conquest cobalt oxide could be imported in greater amounts. Cobalt oxide was one of the raw materials needed to produce the beautiful blue decorations and therefore rapidly supplanted the iron oxide paints. Cobalt can withstand a higher oven temperature and burns less quickly in the kiln than othet piments. In addition, the monochrome brown and celadon-coloured ware also became less popular. (Borstlap 1993, p.47)
The 15th and 16th century blue and white decorations are lifely and in the main inspired by 14th century Chinese Ming porcelain. This can be seen when, for example, lotus, leaf and cloud motifs are compared. However, the shapes and firing techniques were now also based on the Chinese example. the decorations and shapes of plates, bowls, bottles, and such like often look very Chinese but on close inspection the differences are very clear.
After about 1450 many othjer colours were also used, such as red, green, and orange, which were painted on to the glaze. (Borstlap 1993, pp.48-49)
Yet in China's awesome shade, Vietnamese ceramics have been regarded even by western admirers as rustic reflections of Chinese wares, one of "the innumerable schools of provincial ceramics", rather than as an expression of Vietnam's own, admirable, tradition. Asian and western scholarship on ceramics has naturally been dominated by the extraordinary achievements of Chinese potters. There has been a tendency to approach the subject of Vietnamese ceramics from a Chinese perspective and to overlook the originality of the comparatively small output of a comparatively small neighbor.
Vietnam is now opening to the rest of the world. Actually, conscious of the historical pressures that have given their country its present form, Vietnamese are aware of the extent to which ancient ceramics define their culture. Art objects have fared badly in Vietnam. Items made of wood, paper, or textiles have not survived the hot, humid climate, and architectural monuments were destroyed in antiquity during the incursions of Khmers, Chams, Mongolians, and Chinese. Indeed, during their occupation of Vietnam from 1407 to 1427, the Chinese seem to have deliberately obliterated artifacts of a culture different from their own, removing libraries and archives and leveling palaces and temples. But ceramics have survived intact. Along with literature and music (art forms that can exist without tangible expression), They are probably the most important remaining manifestations of Vietnam's cultural traditions. As physical from of historical memory, ceramics form a more significant portion of the country's artistic identity than they do in most cultures. (Stevens & Guy 1997, pp.23-25)
For similarly decorated dishes see;
- Vietnamese Ceramics. A Separate Tradition, (J. Stevenson & John Guy, Art Media Resources with Avery Press, Chicago, 1997), p.155, fig. 3.
- Sold Ceramics - Sold Southeast Asia other wares - Page 1 - Object 2011473.
Condition: Some firing flaws and a short hairline to the rim.
References:
Price: € 499 Currency Converter
Southeast Asia / Other Ceramics
Object 201050
Jarlet
(Southeast) China, Zhangzhou (Swatow)
1570-1650
Height 80 mm (3.15 inch), diameter 78 mm (3.07 inch), diameter of rim 26 mm (1.02 inch), diameter of footring 36 mm (1.42 inch), weight 104 grams (3.67 ounce (oz.))
Jarlet on footring with an angled shoulder, a short upright neck with a flaring upturned rim. Decorated in underglaze blue with a fruiting spray on the shoulder antiquities bound by knoitted strings. On the neck three leaves.
Condition: Some firing flaws to the base and body and a chip to the rim
Price: € 199 Currency Converter
Southeast Asia / Other Ceramics
Object 2010200
Jarlet
Annamese (Vietnamese)
c.1500
Height 92 mm (3.62 inch), diameter 88 mm (3.46 inch), diameter of rim 29 mm (1.14 inch), diameter of footring 49 mm (1.93 inch), weight 269 grams (9.49 ounce (oz.))
Octagonal jarlet on footring with angled shoulder and a short upright neck. Crackled glaze. Decorated in underglaze blue with octagonal shaped panels filled with flowering plants alternating with rectangular shaped panels filled with a zig-zag-lines pattern. Round the shoulder panels with flower sprays alternating with panels with zig-zag lines. Round the shoulder an overlapping pointed lotus leaf-pattern border.
Similarly shaped and decorated jarlets were found amongst the salvaged cargo of the The Lena Shoal junk shipwreck which sank around 1490 during the Ming-Dynasty in the reign of the Emperor Hongzhi. The Lena shipwreck was discovered in 1997 at a depth of 48 meters. She was wrecked on a reef and sank off the island of Busuanga, in the Philippines, one of about 7,000 islands, reefs and sandbanks in the area. It contained more than 5,000 objects, mostly Asian ceramics, but also small bronze guns, lacquer toilets, bronze bracelets, lead and iron ingots, woks, copper containers, spices, glass beads and elephant tusks. (source: UNESCO)
For similarly shaped and decorated jarlets, please see:
Condition: Some firing flaws to the footring caused by the firing process.
Reference:
Lammers en Ridho 1974, cat. 5A90/1945
Price: € 299 Currency Converter
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