Page 77 - Chinese and Asian Ceramics from an Indonesian Collection

Ceramics from the Musi River

century were from the Musi. These included those with
under-glaze painted blue designs (K736, K1729, K2234);
a pattern of incised lines below a watery straw coloured
glaze such as Figure 76, but also including K1512, K1995,
K2026, K2162; an ivory glaze with a simple incised wave
pattern produced earlier in the Tran Dynasty such as in
Figure 77 and K2086 and a monochrome unpatterned
cream glaze (K2086). A more standard bowl with similar
ivory glaze and a combed incised pattern on the outer
wall and a conch and flower pattern on the inner well
was also found in the Musi (Figure 78).
Vietnam ewers for water, wine and tea were also made
in non-Chinese shapes but none of these were recorded
from the Musi. However, four small cups with curved
sides, suitable for drinking these liquids, were made and
exported to Palembang (Figure 79) at the end of the 13th
and beginning of the 14th century (K974, K1397, K1737,
K2083, K2237). These had a similar shape to those made
in Central Vietnam at the Go-Sanh kilns.
A wide variety of Vietnamese pottery was abundant in
many Indonesian and Philippine burial sites. This pottery
was well represented in the Musi. Particularly common
were bowls painted with a brownish under-glaze iron
pigment in a variety of sketchy floral and abstract designs.
Figure 81. Jarlet, under-glazed grey-blue chrysanthemum flower These mainly dated from the 14th–early 15th century.
and leafy scroll on upper body and lotus lappets
around base, upper rim repaired, height 10.5 cm, (K919, K920–1, K927, K1172–3, K1843).
North Vietnam, C14–C15, from the Musi River, Batu These brown under-glaze wares were replaced by
Ampar site. Catalogue No. K2600. under-glaze cobalt blue decorated wares around the mid-
15th century, following the re-invasion of Vietnam by the
Chinese who introduced cobalt blue as a pigment to potters.
A very large number of such ware were found in the Musi,
including mainly smaller bowls (K733–4, K1318–9, K1467,
K1594, K1682, K2004), and one very large bowl (Figure 80).
Many of these bowls were decorated in patterns similar to
those of late-blue-and-white Yuan Dynasty and early Ming
bowls with lotus leaf panels around the base.
Probably the most common North Vietnamese pottery
from the Musi was a seemingly endless supply of jarlets,
both under-glaze cobalt blue decorated such as Figure
81 (K1171, K1391, K1695. K2287, K2600, K2589) and
under-glaze iron decorated ones (K1057, K1174, K2071).
The Vietnamese continued to export a wide variety of
pottery to Muslim countries, such as Indonesia and Egypt,
in the 15th–16th century to compete with the Chinese
‘blue-and-white’ wares. These were not simple copies of
Chinese wares but were in fact highly prized. Especially
well executed were their naturalistic designs such as fish
swimming among water weeds which decorated plates and
jars. A plate collected from Palembang with two dragons
and a flaming jewel was illustrated in Stephenson and Guy
(1997, Plate 220). Examples found in the Musi included
a Jar with a chrysanthemum scroll (Figure 82).
Many other examples of cobalt blue under-glaze ware
Figure 82. Jar, under-glaze cobalt blue panels on shoulder with
floral decorations separated by wave pattern, central apart from bowls and jars were found in the Musi. These
body with chrysanthemum flowers encircled by included water droppers and incense-stick holders in a
looping leafy vine, base with lotus leaf panel, height number of naturalistic forms. Water droppers included a
19.1 cm, North Vietnam, C15, from the Musi River, mythical beast (Figure 83), rooster (K2558), pair of ducks
Pusri site. Catalogue No. K2360. (K2583), a fruit (Figure 84); and an elephant incense-
stick holder (K2556).

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