Gom tran do trieu mac (sep 5, 2011) EN

TRẦN ĐỘ POTTERY MẠC DYNASTY Tân Tạo University (TTU) Vietnamese Culture Conservation

Sources: -Artisan Trần Độ’ s sharing - Website “wikipedia” - Website “gomsubattrang.org”

OVERVIEW ON MẠC DYNASTY CULTURE Mạc Dynasty (1527 – 1592) started since King Mạc Thái Tổ ascended the throne on June, 1527 after seizing power from King Lê Cung Hoàng of The Later Lê Dynasty; and ended when King Mạc Hậu Hợp was defeated by Lê-Trịnh army commanded by Trịnh Tùng at the end of 1592. It lasted nearly 66 years.

Despite the short reigning time and the unrest due to the inner and outer enemy, King Mạc Đăng Dung and Mac Dynasty could still avoid the Northen Feudalism, stabalized domestic affairs, and developed the economy by applying appropriate policies and innovations in constructing dynasty and country; and being wise in foreign affairs.

CERAMIC ARTICLES OF MẠC DYNASTY:  This is the most popular and prosperous handicraft of Mạc Dynasty, especially such pottery villages as Bát Tràng, Hợp Lễ and Chu Đậu.  Bát Tràng Pottery reaches its peak of development throughout Mạc Dynasty’s reign with such various products as dishes, pots, jars, large bowls, small bowls, jugs, tea trays, ewers, ceramic hookah, small wine bottles, slaked lim pots, vases, wine jars, jars and objects of worship (lamp stand, candle stand, incense burners, cauldrons, altar boxes, etc). The decoration on the top of these articles are dragons, phoenixes, horses, people in daily activities, lotus branches in vertical manner, clouds, etc. The artitsts’ names sometimes were credited at the end of such articles.  At this stage, Vietnamese cobalt blue glaze highly developed together with commercial relation. Domestic commerce was promoted, and on the epitaphs of Mạc Dynasty, there were many activities such as bridge contruction, market formation by the local government, especially in coastal and water basin places. Life in cities like Thăng Long, Phố Hiến entered the prosperity.  Mạc Dynasty’s Pottery affirmed its status in commodity economy and marked a prosperous era of our country in 15th century – the era of Mạc Dynasty.

OVERVIEW ON MẠC DYNASTY CULTURE

An ancient citadel of Mac Dynasty left in Tuyên Quang

Sources: “http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nh%C3 %A0_M%E1%BA%A1c”

A corner of citadel of Mạc Dynasty at Ward Tam Thanh - Lạng Sơn

King Lê Temple in Mạc Dynasty’s inner cetadel in Cao Bằng. Is is previously called Royal Palace, and after Lê Dynasty defeated Mạc Dynasty in 1862, it became the temple of King Lê Thái Tổ.

187 – BIG JAR WITH EMBOSSED DRAGON

MẠC DYNASTY

POTTERY

-Pattern: Big jar was made of cobalt blue glaze with embossed dragon according to The Legend of Thánh Gióng.

-Meaning: it is said that this jar is the symbol of melee weapon tempering before fighting invaders.

In Thánh Gióng festival, it has another meaning, i.e an “Agricultural Rituals” praying for good weather and crops.

- Usage: It is said that the king bestowed this jar on Thánh Gióng so he could use it to contain water to wash melee weapons. .

Adapted from the big jar in Ông Gióng Temple

Thánh Gióng Legend and the Dragon embossed Jar Thánh Gióng, also known as the Heavenly King of Phù Đổng or Xung Thiên Thần Vương, is one of the Four Immortals in Vietnamese folk beliefs. He is accredited for defeating invader An, bring peace for the country.

Hồng River’s bank in Gióng Festival

According to the legend, he was born at Phù Đổng Village Gia Lâm District, Hà Nội at the age of Hung King the sixth.

Thánh Gióng is said to be the saint reincarnated in a child who was three years old but could not walk, smile or speak. But when heard the An invader was coming, he suddently asked his mother to call the messenger. He became a sturdy man in no time and fought the enermy out of the country. After the fight, he flew to the heaven at the top of Sóc Sơn Mountain, Sóc Sơn District, Hà Nội.

To show the deep gratitude to the young hero, they call him the Heavenlly King of Phù Đổng or Saint Gióng (Thánh Gióng) and he was honored to be one of four immortals (four immortal saints in Vietnamese folk beliefs including Saint Tản Viên, Saint Gióng, Saint Chử Đồng Tử and Princess Liễu Hạnh).

Water Procession Ritual at the beginning of Gióng Festival with the meaning of washing melee weapons before the battle and praying for good weather and crops.

Sources: “http://tusachthantien.com/tstt/cms/index.php?view=article&cat id=48:truyen-truyen-thuyet-6&id=70:thanhgiong&option=com_content&Itemid=53”

In order to commemorate Thánh Gióng’ s credit, Gióng festival is held annually at many places within Red River Delta with many unique rituals deeply imbued with the ancient Vietnamese culture, in particular that is Gióng festival at Phù Đổng Temple, Phù Đổng, Gia Lâm, Hà Nội).

This festival was recognized as the World Intangible Cutural Heritage of humanity by UNESCO.

POTTERY CAULDRON - Shape and decoration: It was made of glaze with embossed dragon and Nghê on thúy lĩnh glaze.

-Meaning: Nghê is said to be a sacred and intelligent animal guiding tourists’ souls whenever they dropped in for a visit.

MẠC

DYNASTY

- Usage: ancester worship, especially in pogoda which reached its peak of development at this era.

(Superseding the Early Lê Dynasty, Mạc Dynasty keeped pace with the developing tendency by lessening strict confusive prohibitions, and Buddhism and Taoism were restored and developed. Mạc Dynasty built many pagodas, temples, hundreds of stone steles and thoudsands of statues of Budda)

POTTERY

180 – Cauldron adapted from Mạc Dynasty’s ones

117 – Enamel cauldron embossed on thúy lĩnh glaze

POTTERY VASE

MẠC

Used in honorable and high-ranking class families.

- Shape: round, flared lip, large shoulders, flat foot.

-Decoration: simple patterns on ancient green glaze - Usage: buried together with the deceased in ancient funerals.

DYNASTY 113 – Pottery pot adapted from Mai Bình pattern Mongol Dynasty

POTTERY Used in bourgeois families - Shape: pipa shape, round body, narrow neck and flared lip.

- Decoration: floating wavy leaves in gentle and elegant manner.

- Meaning: white ivory glaze with soaringly wavy stylized leaves.

176 – Adapted from pipa pot with blue drawings on white glaze of the15th – 16th century

COBALT BLUE GLAZE POTTERY Used in bourgeois families.

Up to now, pottery atticles have always been attached to daily activities and pottery art became one of the witnesses in human life witnessing changes in society, economy and religion in each stage of country history.

MẠC 453 – Cobalt blue glaze vase

The cobalt blue glaze pottery developed the most highly and reached its peak at 15th & 16th century.

- Decoration: Bát Tràng cobalt blue pottery bowls, ewers, stamp stands, pots and vases of the 15th century has the impulse drawing including landscapes, flowers and leaves or dragons, clouds... The blue glaze has color range varying from light blue to dark blue.

DYNASTY

POTTERY 345 – Cobalt blue glaze lamp stand

590 – Cobalt blue glaze pot

-Meaning: The traditional cobalt blue pottery antiques indicate that Vietnamese are practically creative.

Their creation in those articles had it’s own feature; it is simple, sophisticated yet over decorated and highly utile.

Ewer - Decoration: In Mạc Dynasty, artisans, also called folk plastic artists, created their products in freedom and opened – minded manner. Some types of ewers were made in animal shapes such as chicken, horses, lobsters, elephants and etc.

MẠC

- Meaning: This ewer in elephant shape was in stiff posture with four solid feets implying that Vietnamese culture will last forever.

DYNASTY

355 – Ewer in elephant shape Height: 14,5cm; Length: 17cm Used in middle class people’s daily activities.

- Decoration: the cobalt blue floral patterns in those ewers are soaring, fine, and sophisticated embellishing people’s daily life.

POTTERY 454 – Cobalt blue glaze ewer Used in court official families at that age.

- Decoration: This lidded ewer was made of polish blue glaze pottery. It is the favorite glaze of the confucian scholars in Mạc reign.

- Meaning: Blue color looks like the color of recluses’ hideout and it is also the color of their coat (blue coat).

Blue is the common color of Eastern recluses.

572 – Lidded glaze ewer

350 – BTNĐ GLAZE LAMP STAND

POTTERY

Length: 34cm

MẠC

DYNASTY

Used in bourgeois families.

- Decoration: This lamp stand was made of celadon pottery - Usage: used for lightening every night in the ancients’ daily life.

- Meaning: The ancients manifested their desire on their works by images and their diverse imagination. The lamp stand with two round handles looks like the living eyes lightenning in the night’s darkness.