Chinese Porcelain
Zhangzhou (Swatow) wares 1570-1650
Jarlets
Page 1
Jingdezhen was the production centre of export porcelain, but smaller kilns in southern China competed on Asian markets. A group of factories in the south of Fujian province was particularly active. Their products are referred to by the old name of 'Swatow', which is derived from the harbour from where these wares were allegedly shipped. However, recent archaeological research has proved that in fact they were produced in the Zhangzhou area in a variety of kilns. Thick-bodied porcelain or stoneware dishes, jars, jarlets and covered boxes were made here from around 1570. Bowls, bottles, vases and kendis are more rare.
The output was exported to Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan, but not to Europe, where this type was regarded as too heavy and coarse. The Portuguese – and later the VOC (Dutch East India Company, 1602–1799) – used Swatow as a commodity in their inter-Asian trade. The type is known in underglaze blue, in overglaze enamels and in combinations of the two. The decorations are largely derived from Jiajing and kraak porcelain made for export in Jingdezhen, but the quality of their painting is usually noticeably inferior. Landscapes with birds or deer, for instance, were sometimes drawn so quickly and sketchily that it is difficult to see what exactly is depicted. Dishes and jars often have much kiln grit adhering to their bases and their thick, milky glaze can be heavily crackled. Rather unusual are dishes with an underglaze monochrome brown or blue, decorated in white slib with dots and lines a technique only seen on Swatow wares. Also exclusive to Swatow are dishes decorated in green enamels with Arabic inscriptions that were made for the sultans in Aceh (northern Sumatra). The large jars were used to transport and stored dried fish, pickled vegetables, arak, oil, etc. Small jars contained cosmetic oils or magical fluids, while covered boxes held a paste, an ointment or whatever the owner wanted to keep in it. Swatow was highly regarded in Indonesia and for centuries pieces were cherished as family heirlooms (pusaka porcelain). Almost all Swatow in the Netherlands was collected in the former Dutch Indies and ended up here. The civil wars in China in the mid-17th century interrupted porcelain exports from Jingdezhen, but brought an end to Swatow production.
These jarlets, supposedly made as containers for the export of oil and ointments in small quantities to consumers all over Southeast Asia, were mass-produced over centuries. As empties, they were part of every kitchen. With the passage of time, they became heirlooms and antiquities of small value. (Harrison 1979, p.81)
These jarlets were unearthed in large quantities particularly in Indonesia. These kind of jarlets were mass-produced over centuries and are very common in Southeast Asia where they, apart from being used as burial objects, were used for medicines, unguents and cosmetics. (Rinaldi 1989, pp.88-91)
According to Adhyatman, the smaller jarlets were used in former times as containers of medicine. (Adhyatman 1999, pp.28-29)
Zhangzhou (Swatow) wares 1570-1650 - Jarlets - Page 1
Object 2011208
Jarlet
(Southeast) China, Zhangzhou (Swatow)
1570-1650
Height 70 mm (2.76 inch), diameter 96 mm (3.78 inch), diameter of rim 46 mm (1.81 inch), diameter of footring 51 mm (2.01 inch), weight 321 grams (11.32 ounce (oz.))
Jarlet on footring with an angled shoulder wide mouth and a short straight upright neck. Crackled glaze. Decorated in underglaze blue with a chilong (sea dragon) alternating with a flower spray, around the shoulder a border with florets between scrolls alternating with a half flower head.
Porcelain factories in the South Chinese provinces of Fuijan and Guangdong produces goods for the oriental market such as Japan and what is now Indonesia. However, this porcelain is slightly coarser in its texture and decoration than the products destined for the Chinese domestic market and the European export market. This group was commonly and simply known as 'coarse porcelain', and later the name 'Swatow', came to be used. Nowadays it is referred to as Zhangzhou.
Only a limited number of collectors in The Netherlands showed interest in this kind of ceramic work. These collectors regarded it as fresh, decorative popular art that had remained free of Western influence. The largest collections in this domain were formed in the former Dutch East Indies and were later transported to the Netherlands.
To the Dutch East India Company, (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC) , this porcelain was not particularly appealing in commercial terms because there was little interest for it in Europe. Of course, the company did attempt to get a slice of the cake in the trade between South China and the Indonesian archipelago with varying degrees of success. (Source: Breekbaar Goed. Een eerbetoon aan Minke A. de Visser (1989-1966), exhibition held at the Groninger Museum, Groningen, 20 March 2015 - 15 March 2016)
These jarlets, supposedly made as containers for the export of oil and ointments in small quantities to consumers all over Southeast Asia, were mass-produced over centuries. As empties, they were part of every kitchen. With the passage of time, they became heirlooms and antiquities of small value. (Harrison 1979, p.81)
These jarlets were unearthed in large quantities particularly in Indonesia. These kind of jarlets were mass-produced over centuries and are very common in Southeast Asia where they, apart from being used as burial objects, were used for medicines, unguents and cosmetics. (Rinaldi 1989, pp.88-91)
Condition: Firing flaws to the body, the base and footring, a chip top the rim.
References:
Breekbaar Goed. Een eerbetoon aan Minke A. de Visser (1989-1966), exhibition held at the Groninger Museum, Groningen, 20 March 2015 - 15 March 2016
Price: € 299 Currency Converter
Zhangzhou (Swatow) wares 1570-1650 - Jarlets - Page 1
Object 2011194
Jarlet
(Southeast) China, Zhangzhou (Swatow)
1570-1650
Height 80 mm (3.15 inch), diameter 85 mm (3.35 inch), diameter of rim 23 mm (0.91 inch), diameter of footring 61 mm (2.40 inch), weight 253 grams (8.92 ounce (oz.))
Jarlet on footring with angled shoulder and a short upright neck. Crackled glaze. Decorated in underglaze blue with a continuous decoration of a galloping horse placed between leaf-scrolls. Around the shoulder four ruyi overlapping a pointed lotus leaf pattern border.
For identically decorated jarlets, please see:
- Porcelain and the Dutch East India Company, as recorded in the Dagh-registers of Batavia castle, those of Hirado and Deshima and other contemporary papers 1602-1682, (T. Volker, Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, E.J. Brill, Leiden 1954, reprint 1971), Pl. XXVII, cat. 46b.
- Swatow, catalogue Princessehof Museum, (H. Miedema, Leeuwarden, 1964), p.18, cat. S86.
- Swatow, catalogue Princessehof Museum, (B. Harrison, Leeuwarden, 1979), p.81, cat. 159.
- Zhangzhou (Swatow) Ceramics. Sixteenth to Seventeenth Centuries Found in Indonesia, (S. Adhyatman, The Ceramic Society of Indonesia, 1999), p.122, cat.149.
Condition: Two chips to the inner footring, a polished edge.
References:
Volker 1954, reprint 1971, Pl. XXVII, cat. 46b
Price: € 299 Currency Converter
Zhangzhou (Swatow) wares 1570-1650 - Jarlets - Page 1
Object 2011774
Jarlet
(Southeast) China, Zhangzhou (Swatow)
1570-1650
Height 87 mm (3.43 inch), diameter 83 mm (3.27 inch), diameter of rim 25 mm (0.98 inch), diameter of footring 67 mm (2.64 inch), weight 275 grams (9.70 ounce (oz.))
Jarlet on footring, nearly vertical sides and an angled shoulder, a short upright neck with a slightly flaring rim. Crackled glaze. Fitted with unmarked Indonesian silver engraved mounts round the foot and rim. Decorated in underglaze blue with three panels filled with a spotted deer, rocks and plants. Around the shoulder a ruyi head pattern border.
These jarlets, supposedly made as containers for the export of oil and ointments in small quantities to consumers all over Southeast Asia, were mass-produced over centuries. As empties, they were part of every kitchen. With the passage of time, they became heirlooms and antiquities of small value. (Harrison 1979, p.81)
These jarlets were unearthed in large quantities particularly in Indonesia. These kind of jarlets were mass-produced over centuries and are very common in Southeast Asia where they, apart from being used as burial objects, were used for medicines, unguents and cosmetics. (Rinaldi 1989, pp.88-91)
According to Adhyatman, the smaller jarlets were used in former times as containers of medicine. (Adhyatman 1999, pp.28-29)
This jarlet probably had an Indonesian provenance and was collected by a (former) owner when he or she lived in the Dutch East Indies. The mounts, enhancing the shape, indicate the value such pieces had in local Indonesian communities, where they were often regarded as pusaka, holy and venerated heirlooms. (Jörg 2003/1, p.65)
For a another jarlet with different shape and decoration but with identically shaped and engraved mounts, please see:
For similarly decorated jarlets, please see:
- Ausstellung Chinesischer Kunst, exhibition catalogue Gesellschaft für Ostasiatische Kunst und der Preussischen Akademie der Künste, (Würfel Verlag, Berlin, 1929), p.261, cat. 686.
- Porcelain and the Dutch East India Company, as recorded in the Dagh-registers of Batavia castle, those of Hirado and Deshima and other contemporary papers 1602-1682, (T. Volker, Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, E.J. Brill, Leiden 1954, reprint 1971), Pl. IV, cat. 5c.
- Zhangzhou (Swatow) Ceramics. Sixteenth to Seventeenth Centuries Found in Indonesia, (S. Adhyatman, The Ceramic Society of Indonesia, 1999), p.122, cat.150.
Condition: Some firing flaws and fine crazing to the glaze, due to the firing process and wear to the glaze due to use over the ages.
References:
Volker 1954, reprint 1971, Pl. IV, cat. 5c
Lunsingh Scheurleer 1977, cat. 53
Price: € 299 Currency Converter
Zhangzhou (Swatow) wares 1570-1650 - Jarlets - Page 1
Object 2011209
Jarlet
(Southeast) China, Zhangzhou (Swatow)
1570-1650
Height 80 mm (3.15 inch), diameter 94 mm (3.70 inch), diameter of rim 27 mm (1.06 inch), diameter of footring 52 mm (2.05 inch), weight 314 grams (11.08 ounce (oz.))
Jarlet on footring, with angled shoulder and a short upright neck with a slightly flaring rim. Crackled glaze. Decorated in underglaze blue with two panels filled with spotted deer, rocks and plants separated by a concentric waves or scale pattern. Around the shoulder a lotus leaf pattern border.
For similarly decorated jarlets, please see:
- Ausstellung Chinesischer Kunst, exhibition catalogue Gesellschaft für Ostasiatische Kunst und der Preussischen Akademie der Künste, (Würfel Verlag, Berlin, 1929), p.261, cat. 687.
- Aziatische Ceramiek en Glas, (D.F. Lunsingh Scheurleer, exhibition catalogue of the J.M. van Diepen collection, Fraeylemaborg, Slochteren 1982), p.12, cat. 12.
- Zhangzhou (Swatow) Ceramics. Sixteenth to Seventeenth Centuries Found in Indonesia, (S. Adhyatman, The Ceramic Society of Indonesia, 1999), p.122, cat.150.
Condition: Some chips to the footring, a smoothened rim.
References:
Lunsingh Scheurleer 1982, cat. 12
Price: € 299 Currency Converter
Zhangzhou (Swatow) wares 1570-1650 - Jarlets - Page 1
Object 2011321
Jarlet
(Southeast) China, Zhangzhou (Swatow)
1570-1650
Height 69 mm (2.71 inch), diameter 85 mm (3.35 inch), diameter of rim 25 mm (0.98 inch), diameter of footring 50 mm (1.97 inch), weight 230 grams (8.11 ounce (oz.))
Jarlet on footring with an angled shoulder and a short upright, shortened and smoothened, neck. Crackled glaze. Decorated in underglaze blue with two panels filled with a spotted deer, rocks and plants, separated by a concentric waves or scale pattern. Around the shoulder a lotus leaf pattern border.
For similarly decorated jarlets, please see:
- Ausstellung Chinesischer Kunst, exhibition catalogue Gesellschaft für Ostasiatische Kunst und der Preussischen Akademie der Künste, (Würfel Verlag, Berlin, 1929), p.261, cat. 687.
- Aziatische Ceramiek en Glas, (D.F. Lunsingh Scheurleer, exhibition catalogue of the J.M. van Diepen collection, Fraeylemaborg, Slochteren 1982), p.12, cat. 12.
- Zhangzhou (Swatow) Ceramics. Sixteenth to Seventeenth Centuries Found in Indonesia, (S. Adhyatman, The Ceramic Society of Indonesia, 1999), p.122, cat.150.
Condition: Two chips to the footring, a smoothened (shortened) rim with some firing flaws to the glaze.
References:
Lunsingh Scheurleer 1982, cat. 12
Price: € 249 Currency Converter
Zhangzhou (Swatow) wares 1570-1650 - Jarlets - Page 1
Object 2011155
Jarlet
(Southeast) China, Zhangzhou (Swatow)
1570-1650
Height 73 mm (2.87 inch), diameter 84 mm (3.31 inch), diameter of rim 30 mm (1.18 inch), diameter of footring 51 mm (2.01 inch), weight 194 grams (6.84 ounce (oz.))
Jarlet on footring with an angled shoulder, a short upright neck with a flaring rim. Crackled glaze. Decorated in underglaze blue with a Lion alternating with a symbol with ribbons, around the shoulder a lotus leaf pattern border.
For an identically decorated jarlet, please see:
Condition: A chip a frit and some worn of glaze to the rim. A large and small chip to the inner footring. An unglazed part on the lower body.
References:
Pijl-Ketel 1982, p.211, inv,no: NG 1977-114W
Price: € 299 Currency Converter
Zhangzhou (Swatow) wares 1570-1650 - Jarlets - Page 1
Object 201054
Jarlet
(Southeast) China, Zhangzhou (Swatow)
1570-1650
Height 55 mm (2.17 inch), diameter 66 mm (2.60 inch), diameter of rim 23 mm (0.91 inch), diameter of footring 40 mm (1.58 inch), weight 85 grams (3.00 ounce (oz.))
Jarlet on a wide footring with an angled shoulder, a short upright neck with a flaring rim. Crackled glaze. Decorated in underglaze blue with two panels filled with a spotted deer or haze, rocks and plants, around the shoulder a lotus leaf pattern border and on the neck a single concentric band.
For similarly decorated jarlets, please see:
- Aziatische Ceramiek en Glas, (D.F. Lunsingh Scheurleer, exhibition catalogue of the J.M. van Diepen collection, Fraeylemaborg, Slochteren 1982), p.12, cat. 12.
- Porcelain and the Dutch East India Company, as recorded in the Dagh-registers of Batavia castle, those of Hirado and Deshima and other contemporary papers 1602-1682, (T. Volker, Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, E.J. Brill, Leiden 1954, reprint 1971), Pl. IV, cat. 5b.
- Zhangzhou (Swatow) Ceramics. Sixteenth to Seventeenth Centuries Found in Indonesia, (S. Adhyatman, The Ceramic Society of Indonesia, 1999), p.122, cat.150.
Condition: Some glaze chips to the rim and .
References:
Volker 1954, reprint 1971, Pl. IV, cat. 5b
Lunsingh Scheurleer 1982, cat. 12
Price: € 299 Currency Converter
Zhangzhou (Swatow) wares 1570-1650 - Jarlets - Page 1
Object 201055
Jarlet
(Southeast) China, Zhangzhou (Swatow)
1570-1650
Height 44 mm (1.73 inch), diameter 49 mm (1.93 inch), diameter of rim 23 mm (0.91 inch), diameter of base 34 mm (1.34 inch), weight 69 grams (2.43 ounce (oz.))
Jarlet on footring, nearly vertical sides and an angled shoulder, a short upright neck. Crackled glaze. Decorated in underglaze blue, with two panels each filled with a deer or haze and rocks.
Condition: Perfect.
Reference:
Price: € 299 Currency Converter
Zhangzhou (Swatow) wares 1570-1650 - Jarlets - Page 1
Object 2011749
Jarlet
(Southeast) China, Zhangzhou (Swatow)
1570-1650
Height 88 mm (3.46 inch), diameter 89 mm (3.50 inch), diameter of rim 23 mm (0.91 inch), diameter of footring 54 mm (2.13 inch), weight 298 grams (10.51 ounce (oz.))
Jarlet on footring, nearly vertical sides and an angled shoulder, a short upright neck. Crackled glaze. Decorated in underglaze blue with a reclining deer alternating with a tree and flowering plants. Around the shoulder two florets between scrolls.
For an identically decorated jarlet, please see:
Condition: Perfect.
References:
Lunsingh Scheurleer 1977, cat. 55
Price: € 349 Currency Converter
Zhangzhou (Swatow) wares 1570-1650 - Jarlets - Page 1
Object 2011803
Jarlet
(Southeast) China, Zhangzhou (Swatow)
1570-1650
Height 84 mm (3.30 inch), diameter 90 mm (3.54 inch), diameter of rim 21 mm (0.83 inch), diameter of footring 57 mm (2.24 inch), weight 290 grams (10.23 ounce (oz.))
Jarlet on footring, nearly vertical sides and an angled shoulder, a short upright neck. Crackled glaze. Decorated in underglaze blue with a deer alternating with a tree and flowering plants. Around the shoulder two florets between scrolls.
For an identically decorated jarlet, please see:
Condition: A firing flaw and two frits to the rim, two tiny frits to the outer footring.
References:
Lunsingh Scheurleer 1977, cat. 55
Price: € 249 Currency Converter
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