Classification of Shiwan Pottery (Part One)

Shiwan Wares, Exhibition Catalogue
https://tinyurl.com/rvu4n837

The classification of Shiwan ware is complicated by virtue of the fact that three vilages in Guangdong Province bearing the name of Shiwan have been linked to the production of this pottery, one in Yangliang Xian, one in Dongguan Xian, and one in Nanhai Xian.

Over the past forty to fifty years, the people described in the above history have divided the pottery wares of Shiwan into four recognizable groups, each bearing distinct characteristics of biscuit, glaze and shapes. This grouping of wares may perhaps be regarded as a type of "above ground archaeology" work, without of course, the benefit of the knowledge of the exact location and probable time of production that archaeology usually provides. Within each group, of course, there must come decisions for each piece as to whether it is genuine or fake, a member of the category or not. In the aggregate however, common features strongly suggest that each group of wares share a common clay source, and therefore location of production, a common time factor (which may of course span several years to several centuries), and a common group of potters. Whether they were produced in Yangjiang or Nanhai, whether they are a product of the thirteenth or the nineteenth century, they do from distinct groups. These provide a challenge to the science of archaeology, since none of the major groups have been unearthed at any sites to date, so that their precise origins and locations remain unknown.

In 1940, Li Jingkang classified the Shiwan wares according to the following locations and time periods.

Yangjiang ware                 Yangjiang Xian,               S. Song - Yuan period
Nanshi ware,                    Dongguan Xian,              Ming period
Zu Tang Ju ware,              Nanhai Xian,                   Ming period
Shiwan ware,                   Nanhai Xian,                   Ming period to present

The last of these, Shiwan ware, presents a dating problem only, since it is the commonly recognized Shiwan ware of Nanhai Xian which continues to be produced today. The first three categories however, have been wares about which little has been known or recorded. They have been preserved among a chain of collectors and dealers, and through this same chain, certain knowledge about them has been preserved, which this paper attempts to summarize, analyze and expand.

Yangjiang ware: a description

The so called Yangjiang type display densely compact and heavy biscuits, which in exposed portions are smooth to the touch. They contain none of the coarse sand granules usually identified with Ming and Qing period Shiwan ware from Nanhai Xian, which are usually quite rough to the touch. The biscuits are either dark brown or grey to grey white.

The wares are covered with thick and treacly glaze. The color is rich, generally a blue flambe which sometimes runs to a deep purple, with white and sometimes black flecks. The glaze configurations are rarely uniform, and on a single piece may run from deep blue in one spot to almost pure white in another. Sometimes a pure white glaze alone is used. Often most of the exposed biscuit of the base is covered with a shiny (but sometimes dull) transparent or brownish slip. This is also a common feature of Henan Jun ware. 

There are a variety of shapes, including mei ping vases, gallbladder shaped vases with and without garlic head, mouths, tripod incense burners of differing shapes, pillows, and flower vases sculpted in the form of animals, such as elephants, toads and rabbits. This by no means exhaust the possible shapes of the group traditionally recognized as Yangjiang ware.

While the category described above forms a more or less coherent unit, it is far from being adequately described. No doubt more types will appear as more attention is paid to Shiwan ware and even at this juncture certain pieces remain on the borderline.

Yangjiang ware an analysis

Although oral tradition handed down among collectors and dealers says that blue flambe imitation Jun ware was made in Yangjiang as an ancestor of Nanhai Shiwan ceramic ware, recent archaeologic discoveries have failed to confirm this, having discovered primarily shards of the green celadon type in the Yangjiang area.

A number of sources, including some in the English language, speak of the importance of Yangjiang in relation to pottery and particularly that of Shiwan. Only one source however clearly describes a blue flambe glazed imitation Jun ware produced in Yangjiang perfectly. This is found in the "Notes of Pottery from the Drinking Studio", written by Cantonese, Xu Zhiheng, in the early Republican period, whos says:

"After the Song court fled to the South, this was established in Zhaoqing and Yangjiang of Guangdong Province. The nature of the biscuit was coarse and the color was dark brown (note that it is ash brown). The vessels they made were mostly sky blue color which was not very well mixed. Where the glaze was thick it could run to an indigo blue, where it was thin it would run to an ash blue, areas without glaze would achieve a yellow bean sauce of sesame oil color. Largely they imitated Jun ware but without red flecks and earthwork marks, in this manner they were different from Jun... In Guangdong, Guang ware is known as Shiwan. Because that is the name of a town in Nanhai's Fushan. They moved here ever since the Ming dynasty. The old Song dynasty kilns at Yangjiang have long since disappeared".

It is not clear where Xu Zhiheng obtained his information, but most likely it was from oral tradition preserved either by collectors and dealers or by the potters themselves.

Li Jingkang cites the same information without the description of the ware, from an unpublished manuscript in the possession of "a certain gentleman" in Fushan which traces the source of Shiwan pottery to a Song dynasty Yangjiang kiln. In the 1940 exhibition nine pieces of this group of blue flambe wares were displayed and labelled as Yangjiang ware. In his accompanying article Li Jingkang says, "Up until the present, pottery of Yangjiang passed through generations is distinct and can be studied.... the glaze colors produced except for slip showing beneath the glaze, greatly resembles, Shiwan pottery", Li acknowledges that tradition assumes these wares to be of a Song date ("Whenever conoisseurs speak of Shiwan antiques, the earliest they ever speak of is the Ming dynasty, and whenever speaking of Yangjiang antiques they must speak of the Song"), but he himself adds a note that according to his own deduction, "Since Yangiang pottery flourished in the Song kilns".

Recent archaeological discoveries, in so far as they have been carried out, demonstrate that wares of the green celadon tradition were produced in Shiwan village of Yangjiang Xian in the Song dynasty, while no examples of blue flambe glazed have been found. Taking the new discoveries into account, in 1957, Zhang Weichi concluded that the blue flambe wares that Xu Zhiheng had seen were most probably the products of Shiwan in the Ming dynasty, and that "generally speaking the so called Yangiang imitation Jun wares are doubtful". In 1958 Tong Shuye took the same viewpoint. Tong made a wide search of written materials concerning Guangdong kilns and pointed out a Zhaoqing gazetteer which says "Pottery from Yangchun and Xinxing are all made by Fukienese people imitating Longquan (green celadon Lung Ch'uan ware) but the are not refined. Tong argues that the pottery of Yangjiang, which lies in the same prefecture as Yangchun and Xinxing, must have belonged to the same celadon stream.

Actual archaeological discoveries are of course beyond dispute. The fact that in not only Song sites in Yangjiang Xian, but also Song sites in Shiwan of Nanhai Xian and graves excavated in the area, nothing resembling this particular group has been found, strongly suggests that this technology was not of the Song period. However, it still remains disturbing that up until present no sites of a later date have identified the location of its production either.  The oral tradition remains haunting and the group remains clearly identifiable. Thus while further archaeologic materials are awaited, it is perhaps still profitable to recognize and scrutinize this distinct group of wares.

Continue To Part Two.... 

Exploring Mei Shantao: The Legacy of Guangdong Shiwan Kiln in Nantang, Vietnam, from the 19th to the 20th Century

Can be ordered through "Books China" at http://www.bookschina.com/8418681.htm

The author of this book, who went to southern Vietnam for a preliminary field trip, carefully inspected the art ridges of temples of many Chinese clubs in Ho Chi Minh City and Canggu City, and visited the Ho Chi Minh City Museum of History, art galleries, ancient kiln sites and the rich collections of collectors. , visited local professors and scholars and still in the production of pottery workshop owners, initially combed the Stone Bay artisans cross-ocean founded by Tong and kilns, Baoyuan kilns as the representative of the heritage of Shiwan style of "Meishan ceramics" and "post-Meishan ceramics" historical context.

This book introduces the generation, development and present-day heritage of "Meishan Ceramics" in Vietnam with a large number of precious first-hand photographic materials and vivid and interesting texts, provides a new example of the historical status and role of Shiwan Kiln in the ancient Maritime Silk Road, provides fresh cases for today's booming marine history and global history research, and has positive practical significance for learning and understanding the construction of the "Belt and Road" in the new era.

Having shared this very large and heavy 12 1/2" tall Shiwan ceramic "bust" statue of a Chinese official elsewhere online, did not get a lot of answers or find other similar pieces.

So am sharing it here in hopes someone may have seen something similar.

Any help greatly appreciated 

The ancestral temple of Foshan Guangdong with a roof and ceramic sculpture full of Lingnan characteristics was produced in Shiwan Foshan.

How To Study Shiwan Ceramic Wares

Shiwan Ware, Exhibition Catalogue
tinyurl.com/1v4hiqbh

(1) The study of Shiwan ceramics should include, besides the general condition of the town itself, the political, economic, and cultural aspects of the various periods. Only then can one get a relatively clear view of its development. For example, the ceramic industry of Shiwan prospered in the Ming and Qing dynasties because capitalism began to germinate after the middle of the Ming Dynasty, when industry and commerce developed together with small cities and towns. Foshan, one of these new industrial and commercial towns, was especially well advanced in ironwork and ceramic industry. The division of labor amongst the Shiwan potters became very fine. Some were responsible for refining clay, some for moulding, some for making biscuit, some for glazing, some for painting, etc.

This shows that ceramic industry had already arrived at the stage of employing manual workers in special workshops. The development of ceramic industry also attracted businessmen to invest their capital in handicraft industries. As a result the individual potters were grouped together to work in workshops to increase the output. The Huo family of Foshan, a family of bureaucrats and landlords, was also engaged in ceramic industry. Huo Weiya ( Hua Tao ) in his Family Admonitions written in the second year of Zhengde (1507) says, "An accountant is set over the ceramic industry of Shiwan, the coal and iron of Foshan and the forest of Dengzhou, which concern the comforts of the people are profitable. Every year one man is appointed to take charge of the kiln, one the coal and iron, and one the forest. It is their duty to report to the accountant the profits they have made and the accountant submits their accounts to the head of the family at the end of the year so that it may be decided which of the three is most worthy of reward. This shows that the ceramic industry of Shiwan was at that time as important as the coal and iron of Foshan and the forest of Dengzhou. It also reflects the activity of the contemporary capitalist.

Moreover, the continual development of foreign trade and navigation along the Southeast coast of China in the Ming and Qing dynasties gave impetus to the production of trade handicrafts. The natural economy of the society was gradually broken up, and the change in the way of production fostered the germination of growth of capitalism. And it was under the condition of capitalism that the ceramic industry of Shiwan could gradually attain prosperity.



(2) The ceramic art of Shiwan should be studied together with the famous kilns and the various achievements of contemporary potters. It was not isolated from society but related to it through continuation and development. It absorbed the advanced ceramic techniques of its age and was influenced by the artistic styles of the famous kilns. For example, in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Shiwan kiln was already using pottery wheel knife with which the inside and outside of a ware could be made smooth and of the same thickness. This was an important innovation in ceramic production.

As for methods of glazing, besides rinsing, dipping, sprinkling and brushing, there was the blowing method invented during the Ming Dynasty. "A piece of fine muslin gauze was stretched over a bamboo tube", and a certain amount of thin glazing material was then poured on to the gauze and carefully blown on the ware. Several blowings were usually needed to produce a multi colored glaze, which was then fired in the kiln to produce a flambe glaze. As most of the Shiwan glazes were thin, they could be fired at low temperatures. The most beautiful ones were fired several times. This shows how well the Shiwan kiln could adapt advanced techniques to its own conditions. Its achievements were great and many.

In the process of initiating the famous kilns in China, Shiwan was ale to learn extensively the best ceramic techniques from various kilns, which the potters incorporated into their traditional art with great creativity. One example is the general use of an opaque glaze on the wares. The glaze was fired till it took on the appearance of thick milk, thus looking all the more heavy and imparting to the Shiwan wares their characteristic style of simplicity, bluntness, antiquity and thickness. Judging from the extant wares the Shiwan potter was adept in learning from others to make up for his own defects. His imitation of the famous kilns in China was attended with brilliant success. The very existence of the wares makes this point indubitable.


(3) Artistic ceramics are only part of the products of the Shiwan kiln, which chiefly manufactures articles for daily use. Thus, while studying the Shiwan ceramics, we should not confine ourselves to the examination and appreciation of artistic ceramics, but should study the subject comprehensively and systematically, taking history and contemporary conditions into account.

In the history of ceramic art, Shiwan is inferior to Jingdezhen both in achievement and in status. However, it should be noted that what Jingdezhen manufactured was porcelains, and since the Song Dynasty most of its kilns were run by the government (i.e. imperial kilns), or were run by the people under the supervision of the government, or were people owned kilns in which imperial porcelains were fired. All efforts and resources were devoted to produce things for the enjoyment of the ruling class. The Shiwan kiln on the other hand, chiefly manufactured pottery wares for the daily use of the masses and only a very small proportion of its products was artistic ceramics. The Shiwan kiln, run by the people, made use of common pottery clay (clay with relatively rich content of iron oxide), common glazing material and simple tools to manufacture quantities of articles for daily use and artistic ceramics, which were liked by the people and were very popular not only in Guangdong and Guangxi, but in Southeast Asia as well.

The ceramic industry of Shiwan had suffered for more than one thousand years the persecution and exploitation of feudal and reactionary rulers. The situation was aggravated by the economic invasion of imperialist countries in the hundred years when China was at once a quasi-feudal country and a quasi-colony. However, it managed to survive although it was almost throttled to death.

The products of Shiwan were closely related to the life of the people and centered to the needs and taste of society. All sorts of wares were manufactured for different uses and with the right kinds of clay and glazing materials. The wares were practical, economical and beautiful, and were liked by the masses.

Most of the Shiwan artistic ceramics were made for practical use as well. They are plain and simple, not gaudy and pretensious. For example, various kinds of daily use wares were modelled in shapes of birds, animals, insects and fish. And there were also flower vases, flower pots, wall jugs, stationary, ash trays, and lamp shades made in plant and animal forms. Some artistic ceramics manufactured only for appreciation are characteristic of South China. Figures of fishermen, woodcutters, farmers and cowboys - bare-breasted, barefooted, dress and hatted, wearing coirraincoats or with leaf hats on - were so life like that they won the people praises and were called "Shiwan gongzai (figurines)".  Small carved articles for miniature landscapes in flower pots were especially admired. These included miniatures of pavilions, terraces, chambers, arches, pagodas, and bowers surrounded by water huts, bridges, boats, persons, birds, animals, etc. The smaller ones measure only several centimeters, and were very finely made. This was Shiwans unique achievement, which was not shared by other kilns. It is true that some of the miniature figures are manifestations of mythical, daoist or Buddhist beliefs which stink of feudalism and superstition. However they are a reflection of the old society and a kind of rubbish, and do not represent the mainstream of Shiwan ceramic art.

It was a great invention of the Shiwan potter to use his art as a political weapon. In the Opium War, the people of Foshan, Panyu, Shunde, and Dongguan rose against the British invaders. At that time, the British consul in Guangzhou who placed himself at the head of an invading army, molested the Chinese wherever he went and was an object of their intense hatred. The Shiwan potters therefore manufactured a bath of chamber pots shaped after this imperialist invader, the body of the pot represents his trunk, and the figure, lying down with its feet bent, wears a straw hat, which is the mouth of the pot. Its right hand is placed on its hop to make a circle which serves as the handle, while its left hand, with the elbow on the ground serves as a support to the chin. The figure is coated with a brown glaze from head to foot. This caricature frightened the Brithish invaders so much that they opened serious negotiations with the traditorous Manchu government, which secretly decreed the confiscation of the chamber pots and nearly destroyed all of them.

After the Opium War, the Shiwan potters made the figures of those who offered resistance or advocated the surrender to the British. The heroism of those who offered resistance contrasts sharply with the servility of those who objectly desired surrender. This set of figures, now in the Beijing Museum of History, shows very vividly the people's opposition to surrender and their desire to resist invasion.

All the above deals only briefly with a few questions about the Shiwan kiln and contains several suggestions. It also gives a general outline of the ceramic industry of Shiwan snd an account of its excellent traditions. We must hereafter persist in the course of "finding something new in what is old" and "making the past serve the present". Together with the adoption of modern ceramic techniques, the Shiwan potters must seriously learn from and develop the excellent traditions of their ancestors. This is the correct direction in which the ceramic industry of Shiwan should develop.

Shiwan Wares, Exhibition Catalogue, 1979