Page 4 - Zhangzhou Or Swatow The Collection of Zhangzhou Ware at the Princessehof Museum, Leeuwarden, Netherlands

Introduction inhoudidddd

Definition: What is Zhangzhou (Swatow) Porcelain?

A large family of provincial porcelains, often with vigorously painted decoration, made around 1600, used to be
called “Swatow”. The name referred to the port of Shantou in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong,
“Swatow” in the historical Dutch records.

It was only in the 1990ties, that the kilns, where this type of porcelain was actually produced, were discovered
in Zhangzhou, Fujian Province. The term “Swatow” is therefore often replaced now by “Zhangzhou”.

The term “Swatow” was apparently introduced by antique dealers and collectors, but it is not clear when the
use of the term started. Robert L. Hobson (1872–1941), former keeper of the Asian Department of the British
Museum and author of The Wares of the Ming Dynasty, which was published in 1923, did not use the term
“Swatow”, but did refer to “coarse ceramic ware” instead. The term “coarse”, grof in Dutch, appears in
documents of the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, or Dutch East India Company (VOC), as far back as
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Zhangzhou (Swatow) porcelain was produced in a limited number of shapes: mostly large dishes, but also
bowls, covered boxes, jars and small plates. It differs in almost all respects from the contemporary porcelain
made at Jingdezhen.
Zhangzhou (Swatow) wares were made in a rather coarse manner, often with kiln grit adhering to the base.
Most typical are the large dishes, decorated in blue-and-white designs, polychrome enamels and, less
commonly, monochrome colours with slip decoration. The very original and imaginative designs are often
freely and spontaneously painted on the crudely potted porcelain, which was full of impurities. No two
examples are alike, which gives these wares a very special charm.

Zhangzhou (Swatow) wares were only made for export, but seemed to have been sent no further than Asia.
They were also desired by European traders – the Dutch, Portuguese and Spanish – for the inter-Asian trade.
These wares were easily traded in South East Asia and would fetch a high price. Probably their size and
colourful, lively decorations made them prestigious objects as symbols of wealth and status. They were as
highly valued in Southeast Asia as the more delicate porcelain wares from Jingdezhen were.

The shapes of Zhangzhou (Swatow) wares were well adapted to the customs of the people on the archipelago
and perfectly suited to their lifestyle, during which much time was spent sitting on the ground. These large
dishes were handed down from generation to generation as family heirlooms. Wares of this type were also
exported to India, the Maldives and the Middle East.

Zhangzhou (Swatow) wares were long neglected by Western collectors; there are only a few examples in
European museums, with the exception of the Princessehof Museum in Leeuwarden.

With around 170 pieces, the Princessehof Museum in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, has the largest and most
important collection of Zhangzhou (Swatow) ware worldwide. How this collection was formed in Leeuwarden,
a small town in the northern province of Friesland?

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