Page 54 - Kraak Porcelain, Jorge Welsh

32 Two kendis
Ming dynasty, Chongzhen
period ( - )
Chinese porcelain decorated
in underglaze cobalt blue
Height: . cm;
width: . cm
Two small heavily potted kendis, each modelled with a
compressed globular body, a slightly raised band on the
shoulder, which supports a tall tubular neck that flares
to a wide brim with narrow mouth rim, a short, bulbous
spout with small aperture set half-way between the
shoulder and body and a short, v-shaped foot ring. Each is pomegranate-shaped mouldings into large rounded
painted in deep shades of underglaze cobalt blue beneath
a white glaze with a bluish-tinge. The globular body is
divided into four wide and narrow panels, separated by
vertical moulded bands. The wide panels of bothkendis
are painted with cranes flying with outstretched wings
amongst clouds. The narrow panels are painted following
the moulded pattern with hexagonal-diaper patterns
outlined in blue on one example and on the other a
horizontal and two perpendicular bands. The raised
bands on the shoulder are decorated with two jewels and
dots reserved on a hexagonal-diaper pattern ground and
with two flower sprays reserved on a blue swastika-diaper
ground. The tubular necks of bothkendis are decorated
with sketchily painted upright leaves; the wide brims with band on the shoulder of the San Diego kendi were further
stylized ruyi-head borders. The mouth rim of onekendi
is outlined in blue. The bases are slightly recessed and
fully glazed. A small amount of coarse sand from the kiln
adheres to the low foot rings.
Kendis modelled with globular bodies and bulbous
spouts were very popular in Southeast Asia in the late
th and th centuries. This form is the most common
of kraak kendis. It was made in several sizes, ranging
from about to cm in height, with or without
moulded vertical or pomegranate-shaped panels on
the sides of the globular body. The vertical mouldings
divide the body into wide and narrow panels, while the
panels, alternately facing up and down.
A small number of kendis of this form with plain
globular bodies and moulded vertical panelled
decoration were recovered from the San Diego ( )
and the Witte Leeuw ( ). The kendis with un-moulded
bodies recovered from these shipwrecks were decorated
with continuous naturalistic scenes and stylized banana
plantain or birds perched on prunus branches on the
necks. Those with panelled moulded decoration had
six vertical panels alternately decorated with flowers,
birds or auspicious symbols separated by narrow panels
with strings of pearls and jewels. The spout and raised
decorated with moulded vertical ribs and panels.
Fi een kendis ( . cm high) with panelled decoration
were salvaged from the Wanli shipwreck (ca. ), the
majority of which have the narrow panels replaced by
two thin vertical lines. The kendis with wide and narrow
panels are decorated around the body with naturalistic
scenes alternating with auspicious symbols and around
the neck with banana plantain leaves, while the others
with wide panels separated by two lines are decorated
with blossoming flowers on the body and prunus