Page 130 - Chinese and Asian Ceramics from an Indonesian Collection

CHAPTER 6. GLAZED AND UNGLAZED STORAGE VESSELS IN THE MUSI RIVER

During the late-Tang Dynasty, ships which began to trade The first Dusun type was from Guangdong Province
extensively in South East Asia and further to the west and was made during the Tang and Northern Song Dynasty
included in their cargo a wide variety of storage jars. These from C9 to C11. Most were crudely potted, widest at
were necessary to store fresh water and, from the 9th mid body, had a short upright neck with a flat or slightly
century onwards, a variety of trade goods, both perishable rolled upper rim, generally without a foot ring and with
and non-perishable. Perishable goods were often stacked a slightly concave base, made of pale-coloured clay with
inside larger jars, such as was seen in the Tang Dynasty chalky texture and generally glazed a pale yellowish or
wreck off Belitung Island (Krahl et al. 2010a, Nyiri 2016). greenish colour. Those from the Musi were generally
One type of storage jar that first appeared during the small and were on average 14.2 (7.4–19.5) cm high. Two
Northern Song Dynasty (C11) was decorated with a dragon particularly poorly potted such jars had a white glaze
motif. This motif was impressed onto the surfaces of small (K1930–1).
(20–30 cm high) and usually brown jars (Locsin and Locsin Several larger ones, 25.3–34.6 cm high, were relatively
1970, Adhyatman 1984). Some experts think these early well made with a thick glaze and with a carved inscription
Chinese jars with impressed dragons were produced in high on their shoulder (Figure 232 & Figure 234). The
the Shiwan kilns in Guangdong (Harrisson 1986), while above Dusun type was likely produced a little earlier than
others thought some were made in Fujian Province (Lam other Dusun types mentioned below.
1985). These authors and later ones consider some of A second Dusun type was small globular jars with
these ‘dragon jars’ may also have been made in Central mottled brown glaze or a more even celadon glaze.
Vietnam (Grave and Maccheroni 2009, Dueppen 2014). Several of these were collected from the Musi (Figure
Nyiri (2016) describes a flowering of larger (50 to 60 233), including seven (K1075–6, K2622–3, K2245, K2626,
cm high) dragon jars in the last quarter of the Southern K2630) which had short shoulder spouts (Figure 235).
Song Dynasty which were decorated with a rich variety of A third Dusun type was egg-shaped jars, which could
techniques, including incising, modelling and sprigging. be as tall as 70 cm. One 55 cm high with degraded olive-
grey celadon glaze was also collected from the Musi
CHINESE JARS (Figure 236).
Dating of Chinese storage jars is often very difficult as A single globular white jar from the Musi (Figure 237)
similar forms are produced in a variety of kilns over long was from the Gongxian (Gonyi) kilns in Henan Province
periods of time- and in different countries. For example, and was made during the late-Tang Dynasty.
one of the leading experts in such jars frequently identified
individual jars as being made in Guangdong Province in Song and Yuan Dynasty
South China, or in Vietnam (Harrisson 1986). Even today, Early-Song jars were lightly potted, globular, with incised
trade wares, especially jars, are often assigned to broad time or stamped floral decorations, covered with a thin, brown
periods, such as Song/Yuan/early Ming Dynasties (Ko and or ochre glaze which had a tendency to peel.
Chia 2012). Earlier Tang Dynasty Guangdong ‘Dusen’ jars The most common storage jars found in the Musi after
were reproduced in North Vietnam by Chinese and their the Tang and early-Song Dynasties were a variety of small
Vietnamese trained potters. And late Song jars continued to moderate sized jars produced in South China’s Fujian
to be made in the Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty Province during the Southern Song and Yuan Dynasty
(Locsin and Locsin 1970, Adhyatman and Ridho 1984, (Figure 238). Their height averaged 17.3 (11.4–27.1) cm
Harrisson 1986, Strober 2017). Even the more recent and were generally made of a grey to greyish-pink fabric.
nineteenth and twentieth century jars can be difficult to They were distinguished from the earlier-Tang to early-
provenance because Chinese potters also produced them Song Dynasty Guangdong jars in that they were better
in North Vietnam, Central Vietnam and Borneo, using potted, generally with narrower necks, small rolled upper
identical techniques to those employed in mainland China rims, some angled outwards, generally with a small foot
(Harrisson 1990, Dueppen 2014, Nyiri 2016). ring, finer lugs and only a brownish glaze.
Upper necks and shoulders of several small to medium
Tang Dynasty sized storage jars were collected from the Musi. One of these
Despite difficulty in dating storage jars there is general (Figure 239) had incised reed decorations between the
agreement that potted and distinctly ovoid olive green or four horizontal, broad and incised lugs. It was glazed with
pale brown glazed Chinese jars began being produced at a mottled brown colour and was produced in South China
a number of sites in Guangdong Province, South China, during the Song Dynasty. Another was a dragon jar (Figure
in the early-9th century. And that they continued being 240) which had vertical lugs shaped as monster masks
produced there until the 11th century (Adhyatman and and impressed with an imperial character (adhyatman
Ridho 1984, Harrisson 1986, Nyiri 2016). These jars, and Ridho 1984, Figure IV). It best fits the production
sometime referred to as Dusun Jars (Harrisson 1955), Tradition-type 3 of Dueppen (2014) which he references
were very common in the Musi. as probably produced in Fujian Province at the Quanzhou