Page 183 - Chinese and japanese porcelain silk and lacquer Canepa

be carried on one to table’, could refer either to the very large, heavily potted Kraak images that according to her would illustrate the
dishes made at Jingdezhen or to the coarser ones made at Zhangzhou, measuring up
to about 45cm in diameter. Some of the shapes requested were undoubtedly made
344
in Kraak porcelain, such as ‘Various kinds of covered boxes two fitting on top of each
other’ and ‘Various kinds of beautiful jugs, their mouths like a star’ (Fig. 3.2.1.3),
which were already traded by the Spanish at the turn of the century, as evidenced by
the examples recovered from the galleon San Diego that sank in 1600. Two years
345
later, in 1609, the Northern Netherlands became the Dutch Republic governed by the
States General. This same year, as discussed in Chapter I, the VOC was able to open
a trading factory in Japan. Trade with China, however, continued to be conducted by
Chinese junks that were not directly under VOC command, which initially brought
trade goods to Bantam, and then to Batavia (VOC headquarters in Asia) and for a brief Fig. 3.2.1.3 Kraak pomegranate-shaped ewer
period also to Formosa. 346 Jingdezhen kilns, Jiangxi province
Ming dynasty, Wanli reign (1573–1620)
According to a memorandum sent to the VOC’s employees in Asia in 1617, Height: 19cm
repeated in 1618, and amplified in 1619, the enormous quantities of porcelain imported Groninger Museum, Groningen
(inv. no. 1989.0305)
yearly by the VOC to the Dutch Republic also included some coarse porcelain. It
reads: ‘… And among those about five to six hundred dishes of the largest kind may
be sent each year until further orders, also one lot of crude porcelains of the required (ed.), Southeast Asian Ceramics Museum Newsletter,
Vol. V, No. 3, May–June 2008, p. 2.
kind for the time being, as the Company has at present no porcelains’. In a text in the 319 The shards, now joined together, and the Topkapi
right hand column we read: ‘Of the coarse kind none are to be sent for the present, nor Saray plate with an inscription that describes
the glory of Allah are discussed and illustrated
any large bowls, medium-sized half-large dishes and small cups, because the country in Sebastiaan Ostkamp, ‘Krekels, kikkens en een
is full of them’. This coarse porcelain, or at least part of it, was produced at the lang en voorspoedig leven. De boeddhistisch-
347
taoïstische belevingswereld in de huiskamer van
private kilns of Zhangzhou (Appendix 2). Documentary evidence is found in Chinese de vroegmoderne Republiek’, Vormen uit Vuur,
212/213, 2011, p. 7, figs. 6 and 7; and Sebastiaan
archives, which have records of the VOC purchasing large quantities of ‘ceramics’ in Ostkamp, ‘The Dutch 17th-century porcelain trade
Zhangzhou in 1621, 1626 and 1632. from an archaeological perspective’, in Van Campen
348
and Eliëns, 2014, pp. 59–60, fig. 4.
The supply and demand was difficult to regulate at this time. This is explicit in 320 Published in E. Jacobs & J. Vandevelde (eds.),
De Haven van Arnemuiden. Het archeologisch
a letter written by Coen to the Directors on January 1618, stating that ‘until further onderzoek aan de Clasinastraat, ADC rapport 1675,
order he will neither send or buy any more porcelain’. But two years later, the Directors Amersfoort, 2012; and Ostkamp, 2011, p. 6, fig. 2.
Also mentioned in Ostkamp, 2014, p. 59.
wrote to Coen requesting again large quantities of porcelain of varied quality. It reads: 321 See, Auret and Maggs, 1982, p. 20, fig. 188 and 10;
Esterhuizen, 2001, Appendix B, p. 274, fig. a; and
‘For a long time we have not received any porcelains, wherefore the same are now in Huang and Huang, 2009, p. 73, fig. 7.
more ready demand. You shall have one good lot bought of the finest to be had, one 322 Published in Ostkamp, 2011, p. 7, fig. 4. For the São
Bento shards, see Esterhuizen, 2001, p. 112, fig. 3;
good lot of average quality, and besides, of such as have been sent to us usually, which and for an intact dish from the Espadarte, see the
auction sale catalogue Christie’s Amsterdam, 19
were crude…’. 349 May 2004, p. 15, lot. 617.
Trade was not only conducted by the VOC but also by Dutch private individuals. 350 323 Published in Sebastiaan Ostkamp, ‘De introductie
van porselein in de Nederlanden’, Vormen uit Vuur,
The Directors issued an Artikelbrief (Written directions of trading) to the commanders 180/181, 2003, p. 17, fig. 2; and Ostkamp, 2014, pp.
59 and 61, fig. 5.
and officials of each ship, which restricted private imports of porcelain, wickerwork 324 For sketch drawings of the bowls from the San
Felipe, see Von der Porten, 2011, p. 39, Type VI.
and other goods from Asia. In 1602, for instance, the limit was ‘50 guilders’ worth 325 Mentioned in Ostkamp, 2014, pp. 59 and 61.
of porcelain’, valued according to the prices in the motherland. Two years later, the 326 Published in Ostkamp, 2003, p. 18, fig. 3; and
mentioned in Ostkamp, 2014, p. 59. On pages 59 and
limit was doubled to 100 guilders. The limits were clearly ignored by the men in 61 of this latter publication, Ostkamp also mentions
351
service of the VOC. In 1609, when Pieter Both went to Asia to take his post as first four shards of a plate with a rim border decorated
with alternating auspicious symbols and knots
Governor-General of the VOC, he was instructed to stop the violations of the limit of excavated from a landfill layer in Enkhuizen, which is
dated on historical grounds to before 1591.
porcelain imports and punish the employees who did not comply with the Artikelbrief 327 Mentioned in Viallé, 2014, pp. 37–39.
promptly. Violations of these regulations clearly harmed the VOC’s trade in 328 According to recent research by Viallé on VOC
352
records, the cameelscoppen are among the earliest
porcelain, affecting not only the purchase price in Asia but also the types available for and most numerous cups bought by the Dutch to be
sent to Europe and also for their intra Asian trade
sale in the Dutch Republic. In November 1610, for instance, Jacques l’Hermite, head in the early seventeenth century. Made in Kraak
of the VOC trading post at Bantam, wrote to the Directors saying that ‘the porcelain porcelain, they would come in various shapes and
sizes, and their quality ranges from very fine to poor.
here comes generally so expensive, especially when there are ships, which immediately Some of these cups, generally known as ‘crow cups’,
depict a bird on a rock on the central medallion.
run up the prices so much, that I cannot calculate a profit on them, which [situation] For Viallé’s discussion on the term ‘crow cup’ and
182 Silk, Porcelain and Lacquer
I think will mend only when an order is given that the crews and others shall not be
cameelscoppen, see Viallé, pp. 46–49, figs. 4–6.
329 Nationaal Archief (Hereafter cited to as NA), Den allowed to buy privately which I think cannot be enforced from here because it is an
Haag, Compagnieën op Oost-Indië 1594–1603,
Access No. 1.04.01, Inv. No. 92 (2), Cornelis van (H) old and inveterate custom’. In the summer of that year, the Zeeland Chamber had
353
eemskerck aan de bewindhebbers van de Oude notified the Amsterdam Chamber that the sailors and Company men who arrived in
Compagnie in Amsterdam, s.l., s.s. [Bantam, vóór
6 December 1600]. Cited in Viallé, 2014, p. 38. For the Zeeland had privately bought all the small dishes, and thus they could only offer for
a full list sent as a private consignment, see Ibid.,
Appendix I, p. 50. sale large dishes that had been sent by the Company employees in the East Indies. 354
I
330 n Carletti’s account of his voyage around the world, Although a number of references to confiscations of private imports of porcelain are
he mentions that this porcelain, together with other
goods owned by him, was loaded aboard the São found in Dutch documents it is virtually impossible to calculate the number of pieces
Tiago in Goa. See, Carletti, 1965, pp. 149–150. Cited
in Canepa, 2014/1, p. 254, note 135. contained in all the barrels and tubs imported, because no specific quantities are given.
331 Mentioned in Viallé, 2014, p. 37. The volume of the VOC’s trade in porcelain is equally difficult to calculate due to
332 Hulsius, 1605, pp. 42-43. Cited in Viallé, 2014, p. 38.
Viallé mentions that a hundredweight is equal to incomplete documentation in the VOC archives.
355
about 50kg.
333 NA, Staten-Generaal, Acess No. 1.01.02, Inv. Surviving bills of lading of VOC ships, marine archaeological finds from VOC
No. 12551.21 (Loketkas processen), Jacob van ships that sank on their return trip from Asia, and various Dutch visual sources, thus
Heemskerck aan de Bewindhebbers van de
Eerste Verenigde Compagnie op Oost-Indië tot serve to give us an indication on the types, purchase prices and quantities of porcelain
Amsterdam, Bantam, 27 Aug. 1603. Ontvangen 17 imported into the Dutch Republic in the early seventeenth century. This documentary,
Maart 1604. Cited in Viallé, 2014, p. 39.
334 Staten-Generaal, Inv. No. 11103, fos. 465–467, 17
Nov. 1604, Resolutie en brief aan François van material and visual evidence, together with land and marine archaeological finds
Aerssen; Staten-Generaal, Inv. No. 4841, fo. 33v, 4 discussed in the following pages, will show that the Dutch imported similar types
Dec. 1604, Registers van resoluties betreffende de
Oost-Indische Compagnie 1602 maart 20 – 1612 of Jingdezhen, Zhangzhou and Dehua porcelain to those traded by the Portuguese
december 22. Mentioned in Viallé, 2014, p. 39.
335 VOC, Inv. No. 7525, fo. 92, Pryscourant van de and Spanish.
coopmansz: soo die in Amsterdam zyn geldengde The bills of lading of two ships that returned in 1608 list only a small amount of
desen november anno 1603. Cited in Viallé, 2014,
p. 41. porcelain. The bill of the Gouda, sailing from Patani ‘on account of the Old Company
336 For a full list of the prevailing prices, see Viallé, 2014, and the United Company’, lists one barrel containing 8 large porcelain dishes costing
Appendix III, p. 51. One guilder equalled 20 stivers;
and one stiver equalled 16 pennies. 8 maes a piece and 7 somewhat smaller costing 3 maes a piece; and that of the
356
337 See section 3.1 of this Chapter.
338 Mentioned in Viallé, 2014, p. 51. Bantam for account of the Company lists 278 large porcelain dishes, two broken, with
339 Cited in Ibid., p. 41. an average cost price price of 3.33 florins. The Mauritius, a ship of the Amsterdam
357
I
340 t is not known who, when or where the drawings of
these pieces of porcelain were made. Mentioned in Chamber that sank while sailing from Bantam in 1609 off Cap Lopez in the southern
Ostkamp, 2014, p. 63.
341 Christiaan Jörg, ‘Holanda y Asia Oriental. Algunos coast of the Gulf of Guinea (present-day Port-Gentil in Gabon) in West Africa, yielded
Ejemplos de Interacción en las Artes Decorativas – shards of approximately 215 pieces of blue-and-white porcelain as well as shards of
The Netherlands and the Far East. Some Examples
of Interaction in Decorative Art’, in Pilar Cabañas pottery, thousands of peppercorns, zinc ingots and cast cannons (bronze and iron).
and Ana Trujillo (coord.), La creación artística
como puente entre Oriente y Occidente. Sobre la The porcelain mostly formed part of Wanli Kraak dishes, saucer-dishes, klapmutsen
investigación del Arte Asiático en países de habla and cups known as ‘crow cups’, and others to seven Zhangzhou dishes. They may
358
hispana, Madrid, 2012, p. 12.
342 Viallé, 1992, p. 7; and Christiaan Jörg, ‘A Short Story have been part of a few crates destined to Amsterdam either as samples for the VOC
About East-West Interactions’, Aziatische Kunst, Vol.
40, No. 2, June 2010, p. 4. or as private trade by the officers on board.
359
343 For a full transcription of this memorandum, see The quantity of porcelain imported in the next four years increased considerably.
Viallé, 2014, p. 42.
I
344 bid. In July of 1610 the Roode Leeuw met Pijlen arrived in the Dutch Republic with 9,227
345 See Carré, Desroches and Goddio, 1994, pp. 352-
353, cats. 127–129 and p. 338, cat. 106, respectively. pieces of porcelain. The bill of lading of the ship of the Zeeland Chamber, the
360
346 Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann, ‘Scratching the Vlissingen, one of four ships that formed the return fleet that left Bantam for the Dutch
Surface. The Impact of the Dutch on Artistic and
material Culture in Taiwan and China’, in Thomas Republic in 1612, shows that a huge quantity of porcelain was imported that year. It
361
DaCosta Kaufmann and Michael North (eds.),
Mediating Netherlandish Art and Material Culture in lists a total of 38,641 pieces of fine porcelain for the purchasing price of almost 6,793
Asia, Amsterdam, 2014, p. 207.
347 Cited in Volker, 1954, p. 29. guilders. The cargo included new types of porcelain: small round pots; small cups
348 Xiong Haitang, ‘Huanan yanhai dui taoci jishu signed with blue letters; small oil-and-vinegar jugs with spouts; fine, small cups; small
de jiaoliu he Fujian Zhangzhouyao faxian de yiyi’
(Exchanges of Ceramic Technology of the Coastal pots with spouts and handles; and small brandy-wine cups. The bill of lading of the
Area in South China in light of the Discovery of Wapen van Amsterdam, which was in the same fleet as the Vlissingen and the ill-fated
Zhangzhou Kilns in Fujian), Fujian Wenbo, 1996, no.
1, p. 19. Mentioned in Tan, 2007, p. 15; and Teresa Witte Leeuw, lists only 5 barrels of large porcelain dishes, each containing 5 pieces, on
Canepa, ‘The Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch Trade
in Zhangzhou Porcelain (Part III)’, Fujian Wenbo, No. the account of the Amsterdam Chamber. The Witte Leeuw, a ship built by and for
362
78, May 2012, p. 13.
349 Cited in Volker, 1954, p. 30. the Amsterdam Chamber, sank in 1613 after an exchange of fire with two Portuguese
350 Jörg, 2002/03, p. 20. carracks, while on a stopover at the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean.
351 Cited in Viallé, 2014, p. 40.
352 P. van Dam, Beschryvinge van de Oostindische Even though the shipwreck yielded a significant quantity of porcelain, including 291
Trade in Chinese Porcelain 183