Imported wares

Glazed wares for daily use have been imported into Southeast Asia first and foremost from China, then later, and to a lesser extent, from Japan, for at least 1,000 years. Although trade was carried on between China and Southeast Asia in the early centuries of the Christian era, Chinese ceramics were not traded in the region until the tenth century. Chinese records of the thirteenth century report ceramics being exported to areas today known as Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Prior to this, the impetus for trade probably came from the Chinese who arrived in the region in search of luxury goods, such as ivory, rhinoceros horn, tortoise shell, spices, pearls, and exotic woods like sandalwood. Later the initiative was most likely reversed when the people of Southeast Asia were attracted to the high-quality glazed wares of China.

Southern China was the point of origin for trade with Southeast Asia. As demand increased in both directions for luxury items, new kilns were established in southern China, primarily in the provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, and Guangdong. Goods were transported over a network of sea routes linking the regions.

Chinese monochromes of the Song and Yuan dynasties (mid - tenth - mid - fourteenth centuries) were especially popular in the Philippines and Indonesia, whereas a limited number have been found in the mainland regions of Southeast Asia. However, the introduction in the fourteenth century of a unique an decorative class of Chinese ware known as "blue and white" attracted the entire region and it has been imported ever since. The appeal for blue and white in Southeast Asia continues today.

Excavated sites in Indonesia and the Philippines from the Ming period produced predominantly blue and white and it was exported in such large quantities to Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand, from the middle of the fourteenth to the middle of the eighteenth century, that divers have been working in the river for over twenty years recovering remains of the famous Chinese blue and white.

The demand for glazed ceramics, particularly blue and white, continued to grow, both in Europe and in Southeast Asia. However, at the end of the Ming dynasty, in the mid - seventeenth century, China was in political upheaval and the production of ceramics for export was temporarily halted, forcing importers to find other markets. It was against this background and at this time that Japan emerged as a major supplier of glazed wares. The Dutch, having already established relations with both Japan and Indonesia, were in a fortuitous position to shift to Japan as a source of ceramics when China's supply diminished temporarily. They had access to Japan and used Indonesia as a transshipment point, with Europe as the final destination.

Quantities of Japanese export wares, primarily blue and white, have been found in Indonesia. Earlier wares were alien shapes, such as beer mugs, clearly made for the European market. They were en route either to Europe or to Indonesia for use by the Dutch residents.

Later, probably some time after China resumed ceramic production, a shift is discernable in the position of Southeast Asia as an independent market. Finds include shapes, such as the kendi, which were made specifically for the region. Also Chinese shapes with Southeast Asian designs, such as Buddhist mythical figures, have been found.

By the eighteenth century, Southeast Asia was already an important market for Japanese ceramics and the trend continues in the twenty first century.

a. Trade Relations

Although Southeast Asia was known to foreign traders since the Han period (206 BC - AD 221) and some Chinese ceramics were imported into the region in the early centuries. A significant pattern of ceramic trade between China and Southeast Asia did not develop until the tenth century. Trade with China expanded and experienced its greatest level of activity in the Song and Yuan periods (tenth - fourteenth centuries). Enormous quantities of Song celadon have been excavated in Indonesia and the Philippines, especially in coastal settlements.

The introduction by the Chinese in the fourteenth century of a new type of ware - blue and white - attracted a wide market. It was immensely popular in Southeast Asia and remains so today. Import of blue and white into the region reached a peak between the late fifteenth and seventeenth centuries. Large quantities were also imported between the late eighteenth or early nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when folk pottery was commonly used throughout Southeast Asia.

Europeans began trading with China in the sixteenth century. The Portuguese were the first to arrive and were soon followed by the Dutch, English, and French. They soon established trading posts in Southeast Asia and although their entry into the market caused fluctuations in the types of ceramics traded, Southeast Asia remained one of China's primary markets for folk pottery. Production of a coarse type of ware for everyday use continued for export to Southeast Asia, and during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries ceramics were the leading export from China to the region. The popularity of folk pottery did not diminish as is evidenced by large quantities of nineteenth - and early twentieth - century blue and white found inn the region. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Japan captured some of the ceramic trade to Southeast Asia by producing a competitive type of blue and white, as well as polychrome wares.

b. Chinese Wares Yue Wares - Yue wares are forerunners of the celadon produced in China, in Zhejiang Province. Although a proto - Yue ware existed as early as the Han period, the term "Yue" was firmly associated with a particular type of ware for the first time in the Tang period (618 - 906). Pieces of Yue ware have been found in Indonesia, the Philippines, and peninsular Thailand. A light grey stoneware body is covered with a thin pale-green glaze which usually has a brownish or grayish tinge. Small, shallow bowls with incised and floral designs are typical. An attractive feature is the textural interest created by the thin glaze that collected in an irregular pattern to form thick and dark areas.

Yue - type wares were produced in various kilns in southern China after the Song capital moved from northern China south to Hangzhou, in Zhejiang Province. They were exported to Southeast Asia between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.Yue - type wares are frequently confused with the Yue wares of an earlier date.

Under royal patronage, the kilns of southern China flourished and the court encouraged trade. Within this environment of development and expansion during the thirteenth to mid - fourteenth centuries Longquan, or southern celadon, dominated exports to Southeast Asia.

Celadon - Definition of the term "celadon" is controversial, but it is identified with a type of stoneware fired to a high temperature in a reducing kiln atmosphere, and covered with a green glaze that contains a percentage of iron.

Celadon originated in China and was never made outside of the orient. The unctuous green color stimulus jade. Celadon received wide acceptance in Southeast Asia. A piece of celadon was highly regarded, so much so that in Indonesia it was considered to have magical and curative powers.

The earliest celadon found in Southeast Asia was produced in Shanxi Province beginning in the late tenth century. Northern celadon is grey - bodied stoneware. Examples found in Indonesia, the Philippines, and peninsular Thailand are characterized by distinct brownish tones in the green glaze. A typical form is a small bowl, similar to Yue ware, except that it is less shallow, with incised designs depicting the peony and lotus.

Longquan celadon was produced in southern China in Zhejiang and Fujian Provinces. The quality and beauty of this ware were unequalled between the thirteenth and mid - fourteenth centuries. It has a light - grey stoneware body and an opaque green glaze with grayish or bluish tinges. The ultimate color goal was a bluish - green but kiln conditions were not uniform and variations were extensive. A distinguishing trait of southern celadon is a bright reddish foot. Plates, bowls, and small pots are the most common shapes found in Southeast Asia. Yuan - period (1260 - 1368) plates of exceptionally large size, with a foliate rim and incised designs, are found throughout the region. The pieces seem to have been mass - produced as they are characterized by an untidy and rough surface on the base, evidence of a hastily finished piece. Generally, decoration was minimal, but it increased in proportion to production, and by the late fourteenth century it was quite elaborate. Also characteristic of many plates found in Southeast Asia, is an unglazed ring on the base, presumably to facilitate firing. Frequently the unglazed are is so large that only a spot of glaze appears in the center of the base.

An innovation seen on some of the celadon shipped to the Philippines, was the addition of dark brown spots deliberately created for a decorative effect by painting spots with iron pigment on the surface before glazing.

Brown Wares - Although brown - glazed Chinese wares are found in abundance in Southeast Asia, especially small pots from Philippine grave sties of the thirteenth century, little is known about their provenance and date. A 1985 report on trade ceramics found on Tioman Island in Malaysia included small upright shapes and basins in various tones of brown with impressed designs. They were made at Xicun kilns in Fujian Province in the Song Period. The Quanghou kilns in Fujian Province produced pots with a homogenous glaze and a whitish clay. The color of the glaze ranges from brown to olive, caramel, and almost black. These types are similar to finds in the Philippines and Indonesia.

Blue and White Folk Pottery - Hole - bottom Saucer: A small yet distinct class of Chinese export ware made between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries has been excavated in Southeast Asia. Known as a hole - bottom saucer, a somewhat misleading name, it is distinguished by the absence of a foot - ring and the presence of a recessed base surrounded by an unglazed ring. The name "hole - bottom" is derived from this unique treatment of the base.

The kiln sites have not been found but it seems likely they were located in southern China. The form was first discovered in gravesite excavations in the Philippines. Until the 1970s, the form was unknown elsewhere. Subsequently many examples have been found in gravesites in South Sulawesi in Indonesia, in excavations at Brunei, and in the river at Ayutthaya in Thailand. The pieces are identical in clay, shape, glaze, and decoration to those pieces found in the Philippines. Therefore, it seems that the hole - bottom saucer was made for export to all Southeast Asian markets.

The use of the form is uncertain. Because it has been found in gravesites, it must have had significance perhaps it offered protection from evil spirits. Interestingly, in Philippine excavations, twice as many saucers were found in children's graves as in adult ones. Another conjecture is that it was an oil lamp to provide elevated lighting at festivals and ceremonies. A bamboo pole could be fitted into the recessed base; then a wick and oil could be put in the saucer. A similar type of aluminum lamp is used in Southeast Asia today.

Monochrome hole-bottom saucers are either white or green glazed. They are usually more thickly potted, heavier, and generally of poorer quality than blue and white examples. The glaze is crackled and the foot is roughly finished. If decorated, a single design was stamped or incised in the center.

Folk pottery (eighteenth - early twentieth centuries): Vast quantities of blue andwhtie folk pottery for daily use were produced in southern china between the late eighteenth and early twentieth centuries. Two circumstances occurred to support a large production of ordinary ware.

First, by the eighteenth century Europe, which had been a major market for china, was producing blue and white in sufficient quantities to meet its own demand. This change in trade forced china to concentrate on developing regional markets and altering production to meet their requirements. Blue and white folk pottery was the favored type of ware. It was shipped from china to Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and the Straits settlements of Penang, Malacca, and Singapore. The quality varied from crude, hastily finished pieces to fine wares with carefully executed detail. The impact of this type of ware was so effective that its use extended to all classes of people and encompassed royalty as well as commoners.

The Chinese were skilled at producing wares from drawings. Thus, a unique market emerged and pieces were made to order for the Southeast Asian market. A fine example of these wares can be seen at Vimanmek Palace in Bangkok, Thailand, where King Chulalongkorn (Rama V, 1868 - 1910) lived for six years towards the end of his reign. The King was a keen collector of Chinese blue and white altarpieces. A vintage photograph of the interior of Vimanmek Palace taken at the beginning of the twentieth century shows Chinese ceramics decorated with the King's initials. Thai palace has been restored and is open to the public.

Since so many of these wars have been found in Southeast Asia, the kilns were probably located in southern china, near ports for ease of shipment abroad. Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi Provinces all produced blue and white folk pottery.

Blue and White Tableware: A particular type of Chinese bleu and white ware has been found in large quantities in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand. It consists almost entirely of heavily potted plates and bowls in varying sizes. Hallmarks are an unglazed ring around the center on the interior, a white glaze with blue, green, or grey tinge, blue painting that may have a black or grey tone, and a light grey or buff clay with visible darker specks. Sometimes the clay is reddish, caused by an accidental reducing kiln atmosphere.

Yixing Ware - Yixing is a particular type of stoneware produced in Jiangsu Province, central China. Named after the area where the pottery is made, the most famous form is an unglazed teapot in a distinctive brown color, resulting from clay with high iron content. The area is a rich source of fuel and of the special type of clay required for the pottery. Also, it is ideally situated near coastal ports for export of the products by the sea.

Yixing kilns have been in operation since the Song period but production of Yixing teapots began in the sixteenth century and continues today. Popularity of the simple wares spanned continents. A drawing shows Chinese merchants sitting in a shop in Saigon in the nineteenth century drinking from Yixing teapots. They were used widely by scholars in China and were the original teapots of Europe, introduced by the Dutch when tea drinking was introduced in Europe in the late seventeenth century. The tea also came from Southeast Asia where it was grown in Burma, Thailand, and Vietnam. As the popularity of tea drinking grew and spread across Europe to England, tea became the main cargo transported by the East India Company. Yixing teapots were packed inside the tealeaves for protection. The teapots were exported to Southeast Asia in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In 1892, Yixing teapots were ordered by King Chulalongkorn to commemorate the anniversary of the Chakri dynasty in Thailand. A tea-set in Vimanmek Palace where the King lived at the beginning of the twentieth century, included a Yixing teapot mounted with gold on the spout, knob, and lid accompanied by eight enameled and gold cups with covers. A Gold tray completes the set. In Thailand during this period, the use of Chinese export porcelain with gold was reserved for royalty.

Pieces exported to Thailand have two unique features. First, the tip of the spout, knob, and the rim are often bound in gilt metal. These mounts are found on most of the Yixing teapots in Thailand, and it is believed that the metal was applied in Thailand, as a precaution against the breakage. They have only been found on teapots of the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Secondly, the surface has an exceptionally highly polished finish. The possibility that pots exported to Thailand received special handling is suggested by WA Graham who, in 1922, wrote that the Yixing teapots were imported in rough unfinished condition and that the polishing and mounting were done in Bangkok, near the Giant Swing. He describes how the wars were polished. The grinding or filing of the surface was done with an inferior sapphire mixed with sticlac and set hard. The final polishing was done by rubbing the pot with the outside surface of bamboo.

Shekwan Ware - The Shekwan kilns, southwest of Guangzhou in Guangdong Province, were established in the Song period and are still in operation. The area is rich in raw materials required for glazed ceramics, and the kilns are situated near the Shekwan River, which provided a suitable channel for transporting the wares to the coast for export.

Imitation of earlier wares, particularly Chun, are a hallmark of the Shekwan kilns. Speciality in this area originated when the kilns were established. In the twelfth century, when the northern Song dynasty was taken over by the Mongols, potters fled to southern China. Many settled at Shekwan and resumed potting. Thus, potters applied technology from northern China to raw materials in southern China. The Chun glaze, distinguished by a bluish- lavender color splashed with purplish patches, is one of the most successful and the prolific imitations of the Shekwan kilns.

c. Imported Japanese Ceramics - Japan has a long history of stoneware production, which as learned form the Chinese in the early centuries of the Christian era. The Japanese valued the aesthetic texture of thickly potted stoneware with uneven, mottled glazes. In the seventeenth century, they acquired the skill of producing porcelain and, soon after, moved into the export market. Southeast Asia was an attractive market because of its accessibility and because of local appreciation of the attractive blue and white ware, which was not made in the region.

Japanese blue and white ceramics are thicker and not as carefully potted as the Chinese wares. The glaze on the Japanese pieces is thick with many bubbles, and the blue has a purplish-grey tint. The painting is bold and expressive although sometimes it descends to sketchy and careless designs. Undecorated space is more common and pictorial scenes tend to be asymmetrical and less balanced than Chinese designs.