Page 144 - Chinese and japanese porcelain silk and lacquer Canepa

3.1.1.26) (Appendix 2). Plates of this type were recovered from the Chinese junk,
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known as Nan’ao No. 1, which sank off Yun’ao Town, Nan’ao County, Shantou City,
in Guangdong province, in c.1573–1620 (Appendix 3). 111
The most tangible evidence of large imports of Kraak and other fine Jingdezhen
porcelain into Portugal is provided by the extant pieces themselves. Numerous
intact pieces and others cut in fragments were incorporated as architectural features
in seventeenth century royal and aristocratic residences in Lisbon. The ceiling of a
small drawing room in the Santos Palace, now the French Embassy, is covered with
more than 260 Jingdezhen dishes and plates, mostly dating from the late Ming
dynasty, including 96 Kraak pieces and a few dishes made at the Zhangzhou kilns
(Fig. 3.1.1.27). This porcelain was collected by Manuel I and his successors, as
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Fig. 3.1.1.26 Shards of a Kraak and a blue-and- well as by members of the Lancastre family, who later owned the Palace. The quality
white plates excavated at Lagos, Algarve and variety of the porcelain is astonishing with the earliest pieces dating back to the
Jingdezhen kilns, Jiangxi province
Fig. 3.1.1.27 Pyramid-shaped ceiling Zhengde reign. Only two comparable collections from the same period still exist:
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of the drawing room at Santos Palace, Ming dynasty, Wanli reign (1573–1620)
Lisbon (French Embassy) © Miguel Serra, Palimpsesto the porcelain assembled principally in the Ardebil Shrine in Iran where the Safavid
© Christopher Allerton, French Embassy, Lisbon King Shah Abbas (1587–1629) placed his porcelain collection in 1611 and the
Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, which was the primary residence of the Ottoman sultans
88 The Wanli shipwreck was most likely a shalupa, a
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naveta, an urca or some similar sized vessel. I am for nearly 400 years (1465–1856). It appears that by the second quarter of the
grateful to Sten Sjostrand for pointing out this seventeenth century it became customary to use shells and stones in combination with
information and for providing me with images
in Oporto. The convent of Santa Clara-a-Velha in Coimbra also yielded a considerable Senhora da Consolação (1608), Arqueonautas of porcelain recovered from the shipwreck. For small fragments of glass, Portuguese tin-glazed earthenware and late Ming blue-and-
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Worldwide S.A., 2013, pp. 50–51, figs. 54–55. a discussion on the remaining structures of the
number of shards of blue-and-white porcelain bowls and small to medium-sized 86 The Nossa Senhora da Luz, on its homeward journey shipwreck, see Sten Sjostrand and Sharipah Lok Lok white porcelain (mostly Kraak) to create complex inlaid murals, known in Portuguese
plates, including many Kraak pieces, which are now partially reconstructed. These from Goa, stopped for provisions in the island of bt. Syed Idrus, The Wanli Shipwreck and its Ceramic as embrechados, which covered many internal and external areas of garden buildings
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Cargo, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2007, pp. 23–31.
Faial. While at anchor at the entrance of the bay
I
porcelains, like the Kinrande and yellow-glazed pieces discussed earlier, were probably of Porto Pim, the carrack was hit by a storm and 89 bid., pp. 98–99, serial no. 1156 and bottle shard 1. For in royal and aristocratic residences. The best-known embrechados are those in the
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wrecked. 150 people, including members of the a discussion on two intact examples, one of large size
given to the convent, which was under Royal patronage, before it was abandoned in crew and passengers died and a large part of the and the other smaller, see Vinhais and Welsh, 2008/2, former royal Palace of Alcáçovas (Palace of Henriques) in Lisbon, purchased by the
1677. Shards of Kraak plates and bowls are also among the porcelain dating from the cargo was lost when the carrack sank. The list of pp. 160–167, nos. 21 and 22. The large example, University of Coimbra in 1597; and the Palace of the Marquesses of Fronteira in the
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objects salvaged at the time of the wreck included
together with a bottle of similar form bearing the
Zhengde to Chongzhen reigns excavated at the former Dominican convent of Santana textiles, spices, furniture, ivory objects, porcelains, arms of Philip II of Spain in Medici porcelain, is also suburb of Santo Domingo of Benfica, which was built in 1640 as a hunting pavilion
glass beads and other objects. The porcelains discussed in Pinto de Matos, 2011, pp. 166–169, no.
(present-day Santana Market) in Leiria, about 70km south of Coimbra, which attest to appear variously listed as “brincos de persolana, 66. Namban bottles (tokkuri) of this shape, made in by Dom João de Mascarenhas, 2nd Count of Torre and 1st Marquis of Fronteira. 117
the affluent daily life of the nuns (daughters of noble or merchant families) and secular persolaninhas, perçolaninhas pequeninas and Japan during the Momoyama period (1573–1615), will In both residences, the central medallions of dishes, plates or small bowls (typically
porçolana de carregasam”. AHU, Azores, cx. 1, no. 12
be discussed in section 4.1.2 of Chapter IV.
women that resided there. As noted by Varela Gomes and Varela Gomes, the fine (Azores Archive, 1999, 45–152). Cited in José António 90 The use of the shou character in this repeated way of Kraak bowls commonly known as ‘crow cups’), all perfectly cut in circles, were
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Bettencourt, ‘Os Vestígios da nau Nossa Senhora creating a background pattern is known as Bai Shou
quality and quantity of the porcelain found at the convents discussed above shows the da Luz resultados dos trabalhos arqueológicos’, Tu, which means the ‘Picture of the Hundred shou used as focal points in symmetrical compositions, configured by multiple geometric
high social and economic status of some of their residents (religious or secular) and of Arquipélago Historia, 2a série, IX (2005), p. 237. characters’. These bowls would have provided wishes panels arranged as to create a strong visual rhythm, enhanced by the use of materials
for a long life. The examples of such bowls recovered
The shipwreck yielded hundreds of blue-and-white
the religious orders themselves, and at the same time attest to a devotional daily life porcelain shards, including a large number of Kraak from the Wanli shipwreck, bear an apocryphal six- in contrasting colours (Fig. 3.1.1.28a and b).
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shards, from which it was possible to identify 31 character Chenghua reign mark on the base. The
that was far from being austere. 106 dishes, 7 bowls and 2 bottles. The shards of dishes cargo also included bowls of small size decorated The long established gift-giving practice of the Houses of Avis-Beja and Habsburg
In southern Portugal, a number of shards of Kraak and other late Ming blue-and- show circular or star-shaped medallions within only with repeated shou characters on the exterior continued under the succeeding House of Braganza. After his accession to the throne
panelled borders, variously formed by wide and
and central interior medallion. See, Sjostrand and
white porcelain were excavated in the region of the Algarve. In Silves, about 252km narrow panels, bracket-lobed panels or teardrop- Lok Lok bt. Syed Idrus, 2007, pp. 108–109, Serial No. in 1640, John IV sent ambassadors to several European courts with diplomatic gifts.
shaped medallions. The central scenes include deer 5287, and pp. 134–135, Serial No. 6343; respectively.
south of Lisbon, some three dozens of shards mostly of bowls and plates dating to the in a landscape, a bird perched on a rock beside large 91 The bowl, decorated with a shou character, relates These included an impressive pair of blue-and-white covered jars densely decorated
Jiajing and Wanli reigns, together with a shard of a green Kinrande bowl and the base of flowers, auspicious symbols and geometric patterns. to a find made at the Xiuzuan kiln in Zhaoan county. with the Hundred Deer motif, dating to the Wanli reign, given to Queen Christina of
Ibid., pp. 254–255, serial nos. 7398 and 2695; and
The bowls and bottles are decorated with radiating
a large box with a combination of overglaze polychrome enamels and underglaze blue panels enclosing floral motifs. I am grateful to José Canepa, 2010, pp. 66–67, figs. 9–10. Sweden (r. 1632–1654), who became a distinguished art collector after the death of
António Bettencourt for providing me with images 92 The finds from the São Gonçalo shipwreck include
details, thus the type called Wucai (five colours) in Chinese made in large quantities and drawings of the porcelain from this shipwreck. shards of a saucer dish decorated with a yuan her father, Gustavus II Adolphus. These jars, measuring 72cm high, are housed in the
at Jingdezhen and other kilns in southern China during the Jiajing and Wanli reigns For general information on the shipwreck and its character surrounded by sketchily painted dragons, Östasiatiska Museum in Stockholm (Fig. 3.1.1.29).
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porcelain cargo, see Alexandre Monteiro, O naufrágio
which relate to archaeological finds at the Dongkou
(Appendix 2), were excavated from a cistern. Blue-and-white shards of plates with da nau da Carreira da Índia Nossa Senhora da Luz, kiln site in Pinghe county and Xiuzhuan kiln site in From the information provided by the textual sources discussed thus far it is
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108
Horta, 1999, pp. 22–25 and 57–58; Bettencourt, 2005, Zhaoan county, respectively. For a discussion on
white cavettos and flat rims, bowls, and jars dating from the Jiajing to Wanli reigns pp. 246–258; Bettencourt, 2008; and Canepa, 2012/1, the Portuguese trade in Zhangzhou porcelain and possible to conclude that porcelain began arriving regularly in Lisbon before direct
pp. 262–263, figs. 9–11.
were excavated at the Bernardas convent in Tavira. In Lagos, a shard of a Kraak 87 After a battle with the Dutch, the ship ran aground on these archaeological finds, see Teresa Canepa, ‘The Portuguese trade relations with China were established in 1513, during the reign of
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Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch Trade in Zhangzhou
dish with a bracket-lobed rim decorated with a white cavetto below a lotus and heron the coast after a storm. A small number of porcelain Porcelain (Part I)’, Fujian Wenbo, No. 72, September Emperor Zhengde. The first royal orders of porcelain date as early as 1507. By 1522,
shards from the São João Baptista have washed up 2010, pp. 63–69.
border, together with a few fragments of blue-and-white plates depicting a phoenix in on Cannons Rocks beach on the Eastern Cape coast. 93 Padre Nicolau de Oliveira, Livro das Grandezas de porcelains, together with silk damasks, iron nails, leather shields and other things
profile within a white cavetto and a flat, up-turned rim border with alternating peach These tiny shards formed part of saucer dishes with Lisboa, Lisbon, reprint 1991, p. 462. Cited in Maria made up one-third of the cargoes of the Portuguese giant merchant ships returning
Antónia Pinto de Matos and Mary Salgado, Porcelana
teardrop borders and klapmutsen with monster
sprays and auspicious symbols tied with ribbons, a type of rather ordinary quality that masks, similar to those recovered from the Witte Chinesa da Fundação Carmona e Costa-Chinese from India. Imported into Lisbon under the designation of miudezas, the annual
Leeuw (1613). Personal communication with Valerie Porcelain in The Carmona e Costa Foundation,
began to be made at private Jingdezhen kilns from about 1565 or 1570 onwards (Fig. Esterhuizen, October 2012. Lisbon, 2002, p. 20; and Pinto de Matos, 2011, p. 128. shipments of porcelain were worth less than 10,000 cruzados. Porcelain appears to
142 Silk, Porcelain and Lacquer Trade in Chinese Porcelain 143