Page 184 - 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 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.
dishes made at Jingdezhen or to the coarser ones made at Zhangzhou, measuring up 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,
to about 45cm in diameter. Some of the shapes requested were undoubtedly made 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
344
in Kraak porcelain, such as ‘Various kinds of covered boxes two fitting on top of each 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
other’ and ‘Various kinds of beautiful jugs, their mouths like a star’ (Fig. 3.2.1.3), 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.,
which were already traded by the Spanish at the turn of the century, as evidenced by Appendix I, p. 50. sale large dishes that had been sent by the Company employees in the East Indies. 354
I
the examples recovered from the galleon San Diego that sank in 1600. Two years 330 n Carletti’s account of his voyage around the world, Although a number of references to confiscations of private imports of porcelain are
345
he mentions that this porcelain, together with other
later, in 1609, the Northern Netherlands became the Dutch Republic governed by the 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
States General. This same year, as discussed in Chapter I, the VOC was able to open in Canepa, 2014/1, p. 254, note 135. contained in all the barrels and tubs imported, because no specific quantities are given.
a trading factory in Japan. Trade with China, however, continued to be conducted by 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.
Chinese junks that were not directly under VOC command, which initially brought Viallé mentions that a hundredweight is equal to incomplete documentation in the VOC archives.
355
about 50kg.
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 333 NA, Staten-Generaal, Acess No. 1.01.02, Inv. Surviving bills of lading of VOC ships, marine archaeological finds from VOC
period also to Formosa. 346 Jingdezhen kilns, Jiangxi province No. 12551.21 (Loketkas processen), Jacob van ships that sank on their return trip from Asia, and various Dutch visual sources, thus
Ming dynasty, Wanli reign (1573–1620) Heemskerck aan de Bewindhebbers van de
According to a memorandum sent to the VOC’s employees in Asia in 1617, Height: 19cm Eerste Verenigde Compagnie op Oost-Indië tot serve to give us an indication on the types, purchase prices and quantities of porcelain
repeated in 1618, and amplified in 1619, the enormous quantities of porcelain imported Groninger Museum, Groningen 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.
(inv. no. 1989.0305) 334 Staten-Generaal, Inv. No. 11103, fos. 465–467, 17
yearly by the VOC to the Dutch Republic also included some coarse porcelain. It Nov. 1604, Resolutie en brief aan François van material and visual evidence, together with land and marine archaeological finds
reads: ‘… And among those about five to six hundred dishes of the largest kind may 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
be sent each year until further orders, also one lot of crude porcelains of the required (ed.), Southeast Asian Ceramics Museum Newsletter, Oost-Indische Compagnie 1602 maart 20 – 1612 of Jingdezhen, Zhangzhou and Dehua porcelain to those traded by the Portuguese
Vol. V, No. 3, May–June 2008, p. 2.
december 22. Mentioned in Viallé, 2014, p. 39.
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 335 VOC, Inv. No. 7525, fo. 92, Pryscourant van de and Spanish.
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 coopmansz: soo die in Amsterdam zyn geldengde The bills of lading of two ships that returned in 1608 list only a small amount of
the glory of Allah are discussed and illustrated desen november anno 1603. Cited in Viallé, 2014,
any large bowls, medium-sized half-large dishes and small cups, because the country in Sebastiaan Ostkamp, ‘Krekels, kikkens en een p. 41. porcelain. The bill of the Gouda, sailing from Patani ‘on account of the Old Company
is full of them’. This coarse porcelain, or at least part of it, was produced at the lang en voorspoedig leven. De boeddhistisch- 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
347
taoïstische belevingswereld in de huiskamer van
Appendix III, p. 51. One guilder equalled 20 stivers;
private kilns of Zhangzhou (Appendix 2). Documentary evidence is found in Chinese de vroegmoderne Republiek’, Vormen uit Vuur, and one stiver equalled 16 pennies. 8 maes a piece and 7 somewhat smaller costing 3 maes a piece; and that of the
356
212/213, 2011, p. 7, figs. 6 and 7; and Sebastiaan 337 See section 3.1 of this Chapter.
archives, which have records of the VOC purchasing large quantities of ‘ceramics’ in Ostkamp, ‘The Dutch 17th-century porcelain trade 338 Mentioned in Viallé, 2014, p. 51. Bantam for account of the Company lists 278 large porcelain dishes, two broken, with
Zhangzhou in 1621, 1626 and 1632. from an archaeological perspective’, in Van Campen 339 Cited in Ibid., p. 41. an average cost price price of 3.33 florins. The Mauritius, a ship of the Amsterdam
357
348
I
and Eliëns, 2014, pp. 59–60, fig. 4.
340 t is not known who, when or where the drawings of
The supply and demand was difficult to regulate at this time. This is explicit in 320 Published in E. Jacobs & J. Vandevelde (eds.), these pieces of porcelain were made. Mentioned in Chamber that sank while sailing from Bantam in 1609 off Cap Lopez in the southern
De Haven van Arnemuiden. Het archeologisch Ostkamp, 2014, p. 63.
a letter written by Coen to the Directors on January 1618, stating that ‘until further onderzoek aan de Clasinastraat, ADC rapport 1675, 341 Christiaan Jörg, ‘Holanda y Asia Oriental. Algunos coast of the Gulf of Guinea (present-day Port-Gentil in Gabon) in West Africa, yielded
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. 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
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; of Interaction in Decorative Art’, in Pilar Cabañas pottery, thousands of peppercorns, zinc ingots and cast cannons (bronze and iron).
Esterhuizen, 2001, Appendix B, p. 274, fig. a; and and Ana Trujillo (coord.), La creación artística
‘For a long time we have not received any porcelains, wherefore the same are now in Huang and Huang, 2009, p. 73, fig. 7. como puente entre Oriente y Occidente. Sobre la The porcelain mostly formed part of Wanli Kraak dishes, saucer-dishes, klapmutsen
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 investigación del Arte Asiático en países de habla and cups known as ‘crow cups’, and others to seven Zhangzhou dishes. They may
358
Bento shards, see Esterhuizen, 2001, p. 112, fig. 3;
hispana, Madrid, 2012, p. 12.
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 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
auction sale catalogue Christie’s Amsterdam, 19 About East-West Interactions’, Aziatische Kunst, Vol.
were crude…’. 349 May 2004, p. 15, lot. 617. 40, No. 2, June 2010, p. 4. or as private trade by the officers on board.
359
Trade was not only conducted by the VOC but also by Dutch private individuals. 350 323 Published in Sebastiaan Ostkamp, ‘De introductie 343 For a full transcription of this memorandum, see The quantity of porcelain imported in the next four years increased considerably.
van porselein in de Nederlanden’, Vormen uit Vuur,
Viallé, 2014, p. 42.
I
The Directors issued an Artikelbrief (Written directions of trading) to the commanders 180/181, 2003, p. 17, fig. 2; and Ostkamp, 2014, pp. 344 bid. In July of 1610 the Roode Leeuw met Pijlen arrived in the Dutch Republic with 9,227
59 and 61, fig. 5. 345 See Carré, Desroches and Goddio, 1994, pp. 352-
and officials of each ship, which restricted private imports of porcelain, wickerwork 324 For sketch drawings of the bowls from the San 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
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. 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
of porcelain’, valued according to the prices in the motherland. Two years later, the 326 Published in Ostkamp, 2003, p. 18, fig. 3; 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
mentioned in Ostkamp, 2014, p. 59. On pages 59 and DaCosta Kaufmann and Michael North (eds.),
limit was doubled to 100 guilders. The limits were clearly ignored by the men in 61 of this latter publication, Ostkamp also mentions 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
351
Asia, Amsterdam, 2014, p. 207.
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 347 Cited in Volker, 1954, p. 29. guilders. The cargo included new types of porcelain: small round pots; small cups
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 348 Xiong Haitang, ‘Huanan yanhai dui taoci jishu signed with blue letters; small oil-and-vinegar jugs with spouts; fine, small cups; small
dated on historical grounds to before 1591. de jiaoliu he Fujian Zhangzhouyao faxian de yiyi’
porcelain imports and punish the employees who did not comply with the Artikelbrief 327 Mentioned in Viallé, 2014, pp. 37–39. (Exchanges of Ceramic Technology of the Coastal pots with spouts and handles; and small brandy-wine cups. The bill of lading of the
promptly. Violations of these regulations clearly harmed the VOC’s trade in 328 According to recent research by Viallé on VOC 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
352
Zhangzhou Kilns in Fujian), Fujian Wenbo, 1996, no.
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 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
sent to Europe and also for their intra Asian trade Canepa, ‘The Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch Trade
sale in the Dutch Republic. In November 1610, for instance, Jacques l’Hermite, head in the early seventeenth century. Made in Kraak 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.
of the VOC trading post at Bantam, wrote to the Directors saying that ‘the porcelain porcelain, they would come in various shapes and 349 Cited in Volker, 1954, p. 30. the Amsterdam Chamber, sank in 1613 after an exchange of fire with two Portuguese
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’, 350 Jörg, 2002/03, p. 20. carracks, while on a stopover at the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean.
depict a bird on a rock on the central medallion. 351 Cited in Viallé, 2014, p. 40.
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 352 P. van Dam, Beschryvinge van de Oostindische Even though the shipwreck yielded a significant quantity of porcelain, including 291
182 Silk, Porcelain and Lacquer Trade in Chinese Porcelain 183