Page 32 - Yuan Dynasty Ceramics

Chapter 07 (pp. 330-385)_Layout 1 7/7/10 5:42 PM Page 361

7.42. Qingbai oval dish with molded leaf
decoration and poem written in copper
red, Yuan dynasty, 15.1 cm x 13.2 cm.
Made at Jingdezhen, recovered from the
Sinan shipwreck of 1323. National
Museum of Korea, Seoul.

7.43. Qiingbai sauce dishes with
underglaze iron brown decoration of
xi’niu (unicorn-like mythical auspicious
animal, left), and rabbit (right), Yuan
dynasty, 12.2–12.4 cm diameter. Made at
Jingdezhen, recovered from the Sinan
shipwreck of 1323. National Museum of
Korea, Seoul.

Inscribed tags, which served as bills of lading, were at- Korea. Significantly, some of the fine wares, such as a
tached to the wooden boxes containing ceramics celadon vase with a dragon-fish handle and a phoenix-
wrapped in paper and provide important information headed vase, are thought by some scholars to have been
about this vessel’s last voyage in 1323 (the third year of manufactured during the Southern Song. In addition, no
Shiji). 118 The Chinese ship was bound for Hakata (present- pieces of blue and white porcelain were found.
day Fukuoka, Japan) from its home port of Ningbo in Most of the ceramics recovered from the shipwreck
Zhejiang province. Parts of the cargo were shipments to were made at the Longquan, Jingdezhen, and Jizhou
the Tofukuji Temple in Kyoto and the subordinate Jotenji kilns. There were also a number of Jun-type flowerpots
Tacchu temple in Hakata. 119 The ship’s final destination and black-glazed storage bottles made at minor kilns in
may have been Southeast Asia, since the large numbers China. The clay body of some jars and bottles is similar to
of Jingdezhen wares with qingbai glaze (yingqing or shadow those of measuring jars known to have been made at the
blue) on board were not usually imported by Japan or Qili (Ganzhou) kilns in Jiangxi province. More sparsely

Yuan Dynasty Ceramics 361