Page 60 - Chinese and Asian Ceramics from an Indonesian Collection

Chapter 4. Glazed Ceramics in the Musi River

Figure 35. Wine or tea ewer, height 10.4 cm, Song or Yuan
Dynasty, Jiangxi Province, Jizhou ware. C10–C14, from
the Musi River, Boom Baru site. Catalogue No. K1426.

Figure 37. Jarlet, moulded swirling pattern beneath Qingbai
glaze, height 10 cm, Yuan Dynasty, C13–C14, from
the Musi River. Catalogue No. K2378.

Figure 36. Bowl, height 7.8 cm, Song to Yuan Dynasties, Fukien
or Jangxi Provinces, Chien ware, C12–C14, from the
Musi River. Catalogue No. K1280.

Shansi, and Shantung provinces between the Song and
Ming dynasties (Koh 2010c). They were characterised by
the use of creamy white slip to mask the dark colour of the
buff-grey body. These wares utilised a great variety of glaze
techniques utilising wax resist, leaf, and splashed designs
into their stoneware tea bowls. Most examples make some
use of black-and-white decoration featuring floral designs.
Though strongly based in the north, some Cizhou-type
wares were produced in the south, and the products were
very widely distributed across China. However, little was Figure 38. Lidded box, three linked boxes connected by flower
‘button’ and central lotus bud linked by stems,
known to have been exported. Qingbai glaze slightly degraded, height 5.5 cm, Song
Very few examples of this ware were observed from Dynasty, Guangdong Province, C10–C12, from the
the Musi. They included a small jar (K723) decorated Musi River, 1 km up-steam from Sungai Parit 12
simply with wavy pink lines incised through white slip; mouth. Catalogue No. K1516.
and a small bowl (K2429). It was possibly produced in the
Hebei or Henan Provinces during the Northern Song or
Jin Dynasties (see Chapter 6 on Storage Vessels). they were highly valued for tea ceremonies, especially
among Buddhist monks. The wares often use leaves or
Jizhou wares (C10–C14) paper cut-outs to create resist patterns in the glaze, by
Jizhou (Chichou) ware was produced at several kilns at leaving parts of the body untouched.
Yonghe Town, Jian County in Jiangxi Province in the late- Several examples of Jizhou type wares were recorded
Tang Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty. The best known wares from the Musi. These included: large tea pots, one with
were simple shapes in stoneware, with a strong emphasis an attractive marbled polychrome glaze (K1404) and two
on subtle effects in the dark glazes, comparable to Chien with a dark brown glaze with paler spots (Figure 35) and
ware, but often combined with other decorative effects. In smaller and tea pots (K1290, K1368, K2200). Three vases
the Song Dynasty, along with Chien ware mentioned below, (K1696–7, K2384) which had a prime glaze of dark-brown

43