Classification of Shiwan Pottery (Part One)Classification of Shiwan Pottery (Part Two)Shiwan Wares, Exhibition Catalogue https://tinyurl.com/rvu4n837Tang Ju Ware: A DescriptionAmong potters, collectors and dealers in Shiwan pottery, there has been general agreement that the Zu Tang Ju wares are of Ming dynasty manufacture. There have been differing opinions however as to where these reputedly high quality wares which imitated the Tang dynasty three color style were made and as to which were genuine. Some have adamantly claimed that this group was made in Shiwan of Nanhai, and others just as adamantly that it was made in Dongguan. A search through local Hong Kong collections over the past three years tends to suggest that samples of this ware may be divided into two categories with the likelihood that one was produced in Dongguan and the other in Nanhai.
In the 1957's and 60's more in accordance with the mind of a scientist bent on solving a problem that that of a collector searching for fine art, Dr O.K. Skinsnes began to buy samples which appeared on the market of a rather coarsely modelled three color ware with a light weight biscuit and a thin ash glaze some of which bore the Zu Tang Ju mark. Having heard about the lighter Dongguan clay and also the persistent hearsay that the fabled Zu Tan Ju wares were made in Dongguan, he became convinced that these were the wares spoken of, and persistently built a collection of around thirty pieces, a number of which carry the Zu Tang Ju or related marks.
These wares however are very different from the vase with a Zu Tang Ju mark displayed in the Museu Luis de Camoes which in turn is almost identical to a piece accepted as genuine which the author saw exhibited in the Historical Museum in Gangzhou in 1977. The two latter pieces evince a rather heavier biscuit with a glassier, more evenly applied glaze. Several other pieces from local Hong Kong collections, often called Zu Tang Ju also seem to be of the heavier type. A number of people have suggested that the light weight ware might be fake. A search of currently practicing local Hong Kong potteries however, failed to turn up anything similar. Discussion with the archaeologist in Fushan also was to no avail, apparently nothing of this type had been unearthed in the Fushan area by 1978. However, among the pieces selected by the Guangdong Museums for exhibition in Hong Kong, and example of light weight Zu Tang Ju with a mark is included along with two examples of heavier pieces with marks, all accepted by the Guangdong opinion as genuine.
It this appears quite likely that the wares of Zu Tang Ju include two types, one with a very light weight biscuit and one with a heavier biscuit, perhaps evidence that one was made in Dongguan and the other in Shiwan of Nanhai Xian.
Light Weight Zu Tang Ju, A Full DescriptionIt is well documented that Dongguan has had deposits of a fine grade of clay and has long been an exporter of clay to Shiwan in Nanhai Xian. Dongguan supports minor potteries today and it is not unlikely that it did so in the past. On a trip to Dongguan in March of 1978, the author had occasion to examine their clay and also the unique variety of a very fine grained sand that is dug from the bottom of a riverbed. The conditions seem appropriate for the production of the ware described below.
This group of wares is distinguished by a very light weight weight, buff colored biscuit. A few wares bear the oval mark "Zu Tang Ju" (Tang Replication Hall) which according to tradition, indicated the desire of the Shiwan potters to follow in the tradition of Tang three color pottery. One piece bears the square mark "Yong Chang Ship". Most of the wares however, although three color in style, bear no mark at all. Some of the pieces are quite finely modelled, but others are rather course.
The biscuits are covered with a thin ash glaze which includes the following colors: green, yellow, amber, a light rice straw yellow, dark brown, and occasional black. Pieces are glazed either in monochrome or in varying combinations of these colors.
Heavy Weight Zu Tang Ju, A DescriptionThe biscuits tend to be heavier than the light weight Zu Tang Ju, but are generally smooth to the touch and do not display the course sand granules which makes Shiwan ware of Nanhai Xian rough to the touch. The workmanship is usually of finer quality than that in light weight Zu Tang Ju.
The glazes are smooth, glassy and more evenly applied than the light weight variety, and are not as obviously imitation Tang three color style. Instead they are more subdued greens, eel skin yellow, crab green, and amber brown, although there are some lovely examples of three color glazes in which the colors intermingle in drops.
Again, some of these pieces bear single or double ringed oval stamped marks with the regular scrip characters Zu Tang Ju. Shapes in imitation of bronze are still favorites.
Nanshu Ware, A Description No systematic effort has ever been made to collect this type of Shiwan ware, and aside from one piece exhibited at the Hong Kong Museum of Art and three items on permanent display in Macau, it has never been exhibited. Over the past three years several pieces have been found in private collections in Hong Kong and a number of pieces have appeared on the market. In addition, examples exist in the work storage area of the Ancestral Temple in Fushan and a few pieces are exhibited at the Dongguan Museum.
Among collections of Shiwan, this ware, like that of Zu Tang Ju is fabled to have been made for a wealthy household which accepted only the finest of specimens. Some have also speculated that they were not made for wealthy households, but were simply the marks of a certain potters kiln. From specimens collected in the Ancestral Temple, Fushan archaeologist emphasize that this ware as all Shiwan ware was produced in people's kilns of course, have been handed down through generations of collectors who later have rejected coarse samples as being fake.
Marks to note, p 218.
Wu nan shi tang, Nan shi, Wu nan shi, Nan shi luo wan ya zuo, Nan shi tang zuo, Luo tong sheng hao, Xuan De lu ding, Da Ming Xuan De and Tao dian.
The marks suggest that two mamily surnames were connected with the Nanshi wares and Luo.
Part Three
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