Page 141 - Chinese and Asian Ceramics from an Indonesian Collection

Ceramics from the Musi River 5

Figure 266. Jar, two circles of elongate firing spur marks on
shoulder (7 & 9 marks), height 48 cm, North
Figure 264. Jar, impressed with ribbons of sloping paddle Vietnam or China, C14–C16, from the Musi River,
marks, Central Thailand, Phitsanulok kilns, late Pusri site. Catalogue No. K2222.
C14–C15, from the Musi River, Pusri site. Catalogue
No. K1810.
K1341, K1430, K1827) made in the Suphanburi kilns
(Figure 262 & Figure 263); a rusty-red bodied flared
necked jar with paddled decoration probably made in
Phitsanulok (Figure 264); and a robust jar in a Khmer
style with a white body, which may have been made in the
region of Satingpra in the Thai Peninsula (Figure 265).
North Vietnam
Storage jars were produced in many kilns in North Vietnam
over a long period, beginning in the Chinese Han Dynasty.
For example, jars similar to Chinese Yue-types were made
in the 5th and 7th centuries; Tang Dynasty Dusun types
in the 8th and 9th century; and a Yuan Dynasty jar dated
to the 13th and 14th century. Several jars (K2222, K1779)
from the Musi were probably from North Vietnam but
they could also be from China (Figure 266 & Figure 267).

Central Vietnam (Cham)
The Cham people of Central Vietnam produced well
executed glazed ceramics in a variety of styles, which they
exported to a number of countries during the 14th and
15th century. Because Cham ware was technically excellent
Figure 265. Jar, height 28 cm, Southern Thailand, C11–C14, it may have been frequently misidentified as Chinese
from the Musi River, Pusri site. Catalogue No.
K2040. Song or Yuan Dynasty ware. Brown (1989) and Harrisson
(1986) considered that many of the ancient red bodied
jars found in South East Asia were made in the Go Sanh
kilns of Central Vietnam. These were characterised by their
somewhat watery glaze, reddish body and to the method
of free-flowing incised decorations beneath the glaze.
It is generally reckoned that the destruction of the
Cham state by the North Vietnamese in 1471 resulted
in the cessation of production of Cham storage jars,

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