Home > The Princessehof collection of Asian ceramics > Chinese and Japanese trade ceramics > 3. Zhangzhou (Swatow) wares (c. 1570 - c. 1660)
Home > The Princessehof collection of Asian ceramics > Chinese and Japanese trade ceramics > 3. Zhangzhou (Swatow) wares (c. 1570 - c. 1660)
The export ceramics known as Swatow ware derive their name from an old port, called Shantou in the north of Guangdong province. The porcelains were, however, neither made in the vicinity of, nor exported from this port. After the discovery of kilns producing Swatow ware in the Zhangzhou prefecture of Fujian, the name Zhangzhou ware has become increasingly popular. Although shards have been found in many other kilns in the area, five kilns situated in Pinghe county seem to have been the main centres of production, three at Huazilou in Nansheng township, one at Dalong and one at Erlong in Wuzhai township. They were privately owed folk kilns active from the about the Wanli period (1573-1620) into the Shunzhi era (1644-1661). Yuegang is now regarded as the port of export for the ceramics.
Swatow ceramics were almost exclusively made for export. They were mainly taken to Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Japan. Some, however, found their way to Portugal as three dishes are to be found on the ceiling of the Santos Palace in Lisbon. Shards of Swatow ware have been discovered in the cargoes of Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch shipwrecks. Some shards have also been found in Panama Viejo, the old Panama, a Spanish colonial site. The earliest shards however, dating to ca. 1580 have so far been discovered in Osaka Castle and Negoro Temple in Japan.
The Princessehof Collection of Swatow ceramics, reputedly the largest anywhere, was amassed mainly in Indonesia by Reinier Verbeek (1841-1926), who spent his professional life there as a mining engineer. The ceramics were treasured heirlooms, used at communal feasts, as wedding gifts, even as receptacle for a new-born. They offered status. Verbeeks intent was to preserve an assemblage of export ware typically representative of rural areas. He willed his collection to the Princessehof.
The production of Swatow ware properly developed after emperor Longqing (1567-1572) lifted the trade-bans and opened the port of Yuegang permitting trade with foreign countries. Yuegang developed into an international trading centre. Trade in the Indonesian archipelago was being handled by small, independent kingdoms. Textiles from India and Chinese porcelain, popular among local communities, were traded against spices, rice, hides and timber.
The collapse of the Ming dynasty caused the production of Swatow to decline. The constant turmoil and civil wars proved to be disastrous for the ceramic industry. Around 1660 the production came to an end, probably because of the imperial edict of emperor Kangxi (1662-1722) that all settlements along the coast should be evacuated, seriously affecting economic traffic.
Swatow is in style distinctly different from Jingdezhen porcelains although the decorations are often related to Jingdezhen late Jiajing (1522-1566) or Wanli examples (1573-1620).
The ceramics are heavy potted and kiln grit adheres to the foot and base, sometimes even to the sides. The shapes include dishes, bowls, vases, jars, jarlets, boxes and kendi. Not all of these shapes are present in the Princessehof. The collection consists mainly of dishes.
Quite often Swatow dishes are warped. They are hand-thrown or moulded. The body is grey, buff or whitish, and finely grained with impurities. Where left unglazed, it tends to have an orange-brown colour. The foot is slanting on the outside and somewhat undercut on the inside. The glaze is thick and opaque with a blue, green of buff tinge. It can be uneven and crackled, especially on jars. The decoration is lively and spontaneous. This and a certain roughness of finish with visible traces of the hand of the potter, appealed to customers of these porcelains, especially the Japanese.
Hessel Miedema, director emeritus of the Princessehof, investigated the relationship between various types of Swatow dishes by comparing profiles (form-types) and decorations. He identified three families of wares. These families he called conservative, persistent and versatile. These terms have been replaced in recent publications by wares painted without outlines in a free style (group I), wares painted in outline filled in with a wash (group II) and wares with a diversity of motifs (group III).
Only blue and white ceramics can be assigned to these three groups. The polychrome objects bear a relationship to the latter two.
Dishes of group I are deep and shallow, saucer-shaped with a straight or small, everted rim with upturned edge. The designs are freely painted without an outline in a greyish or blackish blue cobalt. They include lotus, peony and chrysanthemum flowers, mythical animals, fish, birds and human figures. The flowers can have a spiral centre, a feature that also appears on Jingdezhen porcelains of the Interregnum (1436-1464) On closed forms they are also found. Everted rims often show a trellis diaper and dots pattern, a type of border applied on some porcelains dating from as early as the Yuan dynasty and copied in the Interregnum period. Sometimes a Chinese character or Arabic script is depicted. On the sturdy jars which are made in two parts, the seam is accentuated by the decoration. The production of this group started relatively early and continued in the early 17th century.
Zhangzhou ceramics of group II were produced between ca. 1580 en 1650, a relatively long period. There are plates, dishes with a flaring rim, and saucer-shaped dishes with or without a bracketed edge. The designs are painted within outlines and filled in with a wash, often extending beyond the lines. Two shades of a clear cobalt blue are regularly used. Dots are often present, sometimes to delineate the design, sometimes to accentuate it. They also frequently appear on Jingdezhen porcelains. The scenes can be rather crowded. Motifs are the phoenix, sometimes standing beside a giant peony, deer or cocks in a landscape, ducks at a pond, flying cranes, human figures, horses, and floral designs, all inspired by Jiajing period Jingdezhen porcelains (1522-1566). A variety of diapers can be found on the rim. At the turn of the century panelling in Kraak style appears, the panels filled with waterweeds, peaches and flowers. On dishes with Kraak rim patterns, the central motifs are also those found on Kraak wares.
Influences of the Jiajing style can also be seen on jars, boxes and jarlets. A very rare motif, unique to Zhangzhou jars is that of the bearded, winged dragon.
Group III is most diverse. In general the designs are somewhat more refined than those in group II. There are saucer-shaped dishes and dishes with a slight rim, with or without a thickened edge. Quite often they have small swelling in the centre of the base. An innovative shape is the dish on a stem. The designs include phoenixes or pheasants in a landscape, dragons, qilin, and flying horses amidst flames, river scenes and fish. Prominent block diapers are often part of the decorative scheme. A special motif is the marine rose. Marine creatures and coastal scenes are also seen. Objects in this group started to be made in the early 17th century but a post-Wanli date for many objects is probably appropriate.
Swatow with a combination of underglaze blue and polychrome enamel decoration is rare. It can be related in style to group II.
Polychrome Swatow was made at the same kilns and at the same time, as shards of both types have been found together. It probably started in the late 16th to early 17th century. Four colours of enamel are used: red, green, turquoise and black, the latter for outlines. They appear mostly on dishes of saucer shape with straight rim, or everted rim with upturned edge, and bowls. Closed forms are rare. Generally the designs are related to group II or III. Special designs include the marine rose, the split-pagoda, seals, Arabic script in roundels or spread on the surface, and a diaper of spirals and lines. Polychrome Swatow was very popular in Japan where several great collections were formed.
Slip-decorated dishes are saucer-shaped with straight or everted rims and upturned edges, or a fluted well. The motifs are applied with white porcelain clay over a greyish- or greenish-white, an iron-brown glaze or a white glaze overlaid with a blue one. Floral decorations and mythological animals are mostly seen. The same colours are used on monochrome Swatow, except for the iron-brown. Sometimes a design of a leaping fish or dragon is engraved under the glaze.
