Page 19 - Chinese and Asian Ceramics from an Indonesian Collection

Ceramics from the Musi River

no attempt was made to gain a representative sample
of ceramics from each site along the River. Also, only
rarely did we obtain an item that had already been
repaired. Rather, we focused on obtaining those that
were undamaged, or if broken, the original shape was
clear. For example, if the upper rim of a kendi was half
missing we repaired it, but if the upper half of the neck
of a kendi was missing then we obtained the item only if
it was not represented in our collection - and then we did
not repair it. Repair work was not painted but left so that
it was obvious. In a very few cases, items were reconstructed
from an identical item observed and photographed
from the River. Only very occasionally were we unable
to obtain a representative of a particular ceramic type.
Sometimes we had to wait until a damaged piece emerged,
because an earlier example in pristine condition was too
expensive. Towards the end of 2017, we rarely sighted
items that were not already in our collection or which
were a unique new form. Consequently, the collection is
excellently representative of Chinese, North Vietnamese,
Cham and Thai glazed ware as well as local, Javanese
Majapahit, Thai, South Vietnamese (including that from
the Oc Eo culture), Chinese and Philippine unglazed,
slipped and painted ware.
The catalogue describing this collection from the Musi
River comprises the second part of this book. It is in two
sections. First, core curatorial descriptive information for
each object. These include unique catalogue numbers
prefixed by K, form, condition, repair work, dimensions,
country, region and kiln location if known, approximate
date of production and site in the Musi River, if known.
Key references used to assist identify objects are also
listed where possible and their full citation is listed in
this book. Secondly, the catalogue provides a gallery of
photographs of each object.

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