Chinese Porcelain
Kraak Porcelain wares 1570-1645
Closed Forms
Dutch merchants arrived in Asia towards the end of the 16th century. The VOC, (Dutch East India Company, 1602–1799), founded in 1602, competed fiercely with the Portuguese as traders. Porcelain from captured Portuguese vessels (caraccas) was called kraak porcelain, a Dutch corruption of the Portuguese word. It was made especially for export in Jingdezhen, the porcelain centre in Jiangxi Province. The VOC shipped it in huge quantities and soon it was a commonplace item in Dutch interiors.
Kraak porcelain was primarily bought for practical use but pieces also had decorative functions. The paintings, done in underglaze blue only, show landscapes and animals, rarely human figures, making this porcelain suitable for Islamic markets, too. Buddhist and Daoist good luck symbols make up the paneled border decorations. Plates and dishes were moulded. They are thin, usually rather quickly finished and often have kiln grit adhering to the underside. The glaze on the edge is often retracted. Apart from large dishes, the bases of other objects are glazed, and the V-shaped footring is slightly undercut. Initially, the panels on kraak porcelain were raised, but this feature disappeared at the end of this period.
Following Rinaldi in her book 'Kraak Porcelain. A moment in the History of Trade.' Kraak porcelain wares have, if available, been classified into four groups:
- Dishes
- Klapmutsen
- Bowls
- Closed Forms
In turn these groups have been subdivided according to specific characteristics
Many of the closed forms, perhaps even the majority, lack one of the principal Kraak characteristics: thinness. Consequently most of these pieces are much heavier than their open counterparts. Yet it has become customary to include these forms among Kraak wares, although strictly speaking it would be more correct to refer to them as porcelain decorated in Kraak style. (Rinaldi 1989, p.166)
Closed Forms are classified by their shapes. These are divided into two major groups pouring vesses and boxes.
Shape I (c.1575-1610) pouring vessels
- Shape I.1 (c.1570-1610) pear-shaped bottles
- Shape I.2 (c.1585-1610) double-gourd bottles
- Shape I.3 (c.1575-1645) kendis
- Shape I.3a (c.1590-1645) kendis with bulbous or flanged spouts
- Shape I.3b (c.1575-1610) kendis with long spouts
- Shape I.3C (c.1590-1645) zoomorphic kendis
- Shape I.4 (c.1590-1625) wine pots
Shape II (c.1590-1650) boxes
- Shape II.1 (c.1590-1650) covered cups
- Shape II.2 (c.1605-1650) betel boxes
(source: Rinaldi 1989, pp.166-191)
Kraak Porcelain wares 1570-1645 - Closed Forms - Page 1
Object 2010C325
Bottle
China
1580-1605
Height 286 mm (11.26 inch), diameter 151 mm (5.94 inch), diameter of mouthrim 25 mm (0.98 inch), diameter of footring 86 mm (3.58 inch), weight 961 grams (33.90 ounce (oz.))
A heavy and thickly potted bottle modelled with pear-shaped body, tall tapering neck, slightly flared mouth with rolled mouth rim and low, thick, V-shaped footring. The recessed base is slightly convex and glazed. The bottle is decorated in deep shades of cobalt blue, darkening in some areas to a blackish blue, beneath a blue-tinged glaze. The lower body is moulded with six wide and narrow vertical panels. The wide panels are decorated with flowering plants growing from rocks and a butterfly in flight, a bird perched on a rock with flowering plants and grasses and various flowering plants with swirling clouds. The narrow panels are decorated with vertical lines framed by beaded pendants ending with tassels enclosed by a coin and a knotted ribbon. The neck is decorated with six panels enclosing beaded pendants interrupted by a stylized ruyi-head border and four dots with a tassel. A border of stylized overlapping scrolls encircles the footrim. (Welsh 2008, p.148)
This bottle can be classified as a closed Forms, pear-shaped bottle. The name defines the shape of these bottles: a rounded body low on the footring with a neck of varying length, often ending with a garlic-shaped protuberance. These bottles are often referred to as Persian flasks. Unlike Kraak bowls and dishes, footrims on bottles are thick, low almost rolled. Bases are glazed. The Hatcher cargo produced a large amount of full-size bottles, which are truly representative of the term "pear-shaped". In these late pieces the border on the shoulder is wide and may have a meander pattern or thick lines. A series of dots covers the rest of the neck. When it is present, the garlic shape at the end of the neck is decorated with triangular motifs connected by straight lines. The large panels sport the unusual decorations but the flying horse, painted vertically and head down, is a favourite motif. All these bottles are heavily potted. (Rinaldi 1989, pp.166-191)
Such pear-shaped bottles were common in the cargoes of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) ships returning to the Netherlands and frequently figure in the Company's records as pear-shaped bottles and "Persian" bottles are mentioned as separate items, but the difference between them is not yet clear. Several pieces of the same shape and with rather casual and simplified decoration were found in the Hatcher wreck, a Chinese Junk which sank c.1643. Thus this bottle is dated accordingly. Unlike dishes, saucers and bowls of Kraak porcelain, hollow forms such as bottles, ewers and jars do not have the characteristic thin body of Kraak porcelain and are more heavily potted. Nevertheless, all authors accept them as Kraak ware because of their decoration in - usually moulded - panels. (Jörg & Van Campen 1997, p.66)
For an identically shaped and similarly decorated bottle, please see:
Condition: Perfect.
References:
Price: € 2.499 Currency Converter
Kraak Porcelain wares 1570-1645 - Closed Forms - Page 1
Object 2012560
Small bottle
China
1600-1620
Height 159 mm (6.26 inch), diameter 83 mm (3.27 inch), diameter of mouthrim 25 mm (0.98 inch), diameter of footring 44 mm (1.73 inch), weight 205 grams (7.23 ounce (oz.))
A thickly potted small bottle with a pear-shaped body, tall tapering neck, slightly flared mouth with rolled mouth rim and low, thick, V-shaped foot ring. The recessed base is slightly convex and glazed. The small bottle is decorated in deep shades of cobalt blue, darkening in some areas to a blackish blue, beneath a blue-tinged glaze. The lower body is moulded with four wide and narrow vertical panels. The wide panels are decorated with flowering plants alternating with flowering peach. The narrow panels are decorated with vertical lines framed by curvy lines. The five narrow panels on the neck are decorated with pending strings of beads ending in tassels and are enclosed between two stylized ruyi-head borders. (Welsh 2008, p.152)
This small bottle can be classified as a closed form, pear-shaped bottle. The name defines the shape of these bottles: a rounded body low on the footring with a neck of varying length, often ending with a garlic-shaped protuberance. These bottles are often referred to as Persian flasks. Unlike Kraak bowls and dishes, footrims on bottles are thick, low almost rolled. Bases are glazed. The Hatcher cargo produced a large amount of full-size bottles, which are truly representative of the term "pear-shaped". In these late pieces the border on the shoulder is wide and may have a meander pattern or thick lines. A series of dots covers the rest of the neck. When it is present, the garlic shape at the end of the neck is decorated with triangular motifs connected by straight lines. The large panels sport the unusual decorations but the flying horse, painted vertically and head down, is a favourite motif. All these bottles are heavily potted. (Rinaldi 1989, pp.166-191)
Such pear-shaped bottles were common in the cargoes of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) ships returning to the Netherlands and frequently figure in the Company's records as pear-shaped bottles and "Persian" bottles are mentioned as separate items, but the difference between them is not yet clear. Several pieces of the same shape and with rather casual and simplified decoration were found in the Hatcher wreck, a Chinese Junk which sank c.1643. Thus this bottle is dated accordingly. Unlike dishes, saucers and bowls of Kraak porcelain, hollow forms such as bottles, ewers and jars do not have the characteristic thin body of Kraak porcelain and are more heavily potted. Nevertheless, all authors accept them as Kraak ware because of their decoration in - usually moulded - panels. (Jörg & Van Campen 1997, p.66)
Small moulded bottles are relatively rare in Dutch collections and seems unrecorded in literature so far.
For a similarly shaped and sized, earlier sold, small bottle, please see:
Condition: Firing flaws to the base and footring and an old restauration to the rim.
References:
Price: € 599 Currency Converter
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