Shards2008april

A Newsletter of the China Students’ Club of Boston Volume 11, Issue 3 www.chinastudentsclub.org

April 2008

A Message from Our President Dear Club Members, At our January 24th meeting, Club members voted to make some changes to the Board. Bob Barth has retired from the position of Treasurer. We thank him for many years of hard work and effort in keeping our books organized and bills paid. Greg Lovell—our Vice President—has graciously accepted the position of Treasurer.

He has been a fantastic VP, and I know that he will do a great job with Club finances! Cheryl Robertson was elected Vice-President. Cheryl has worked as a curator and consultant for several museums, including the Villa Terrace Museum in Milwaukee, the National Heritage Museum in Lexington, the Wadsworth Athenaeum in Hartford, and Historic New England. We welcome her energy, enthusiasm, and wide-ranging ceramic knowledge to the Board. Since Cheryl is new to her position, I will remain President and Carolyn Roy will continue as Chair of the Board for an additional one-year term. I also want to thank Karina Corrigan—our Nominating Chair—for helping me to fill these important positions.

At this point we are searching for a replacement for our Recording Secretary, Yon Bard. If anyone is interested in the position or needs more information about the job, please feel free to contact either Karina or me. Joining the Board is a great way to meet more people, and we encourage you to consider extending your involvement in the Club.

The Annual Meeting on Thursday, May 22 will be slightly different this year. Cheryl Robertson will be leading the meeting for me, as I will be on the American Ceramic Circle trip to China. I am sorry to miss the Annual Meeting and tea—it always feels like the perfect start of summer. Perhaps in the future (if my photos turn out), I will get the opportunity to share some insights gleaned from my trip.

Amanda Lange President, China Students’ Club W: (413) 775-7206 H: (413) 548-9444 Email: lange@historic-deerfield.org

Robert Mowry on “Change in Taste: Ming Porcelains and Ming Culture” Reviewed by Jeff Brown Dr. Mowry, the Alan J. Dworsky Curator of Chinese Art at the Harvard University Museums, commenced with a short review of his previous lecture from about a year ago on Yuan Dynasty blue and white porcelain (1279-1368). Blue and white came to the fore during the Yuan period primarily due to its popularity as an export ware to the Mid-East. It was also used as altar decoration for Daoist shrines and Buddhist temples.

Both of these uses for blue and white wares did little to recommend them to the old school cognoscenti who still preferred the sophisticated celadons of the earlier, preMongol invasion, Song Dynasty. These wares had incised or carved decorations and were covered in an iron-rich glaze that gave celadon its distinctive soft sil-

ver-green coloration. Blue and white was considered vulgar enough for export but too garish for the Court or for a scholar’s study. On 14th century blue and white pieces the decorations were broken up into horizontal registers that had little or no relation to one another. The cobalt contained minor iron impurities and sometimes appeared black. Scenic decorations were often based on woodcut illustrations from popular novels of the time.

Slowly, new techniques and innovations were experimented with and introduced, one of these being underglaze copper red. Copper red is extremely difficult to master. It has a tendency to bleed—it doesn’t keep a fine line as cobalt does. It is next to impossible to conContinued on page 2

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Robert Mowry on Ming Porcelain Continued from page 1 trol the kiln to get the copper to mature to the desired strawberry-jam red that was so desirable. Cobalt matures over a wide range of temperatures, whereas copper must be fired to within plus or minus five degrees of the right temperature to behave properly. When the conditions are right, that rare piece is glorious. These experiments illustrate the general underlying theme throughout Ming porcelain production—the never ending desire for an ever wider range of colors.

A mature early Ming style had developed by the early 15th century. This is regarded as one of the high points of Chinese porcelain making. Blue and white came into favor at court. Dr. Mowry suggests this change in taste came about because the first Ming emperor was actually raised as an orphan by Buddhist monks and as a child was exposed to blue and white in their temples, and there acquired a lifelong taste for it. As this was now a ware for the Imperial court the painting became more serene and elegant, the porcelain more refined, and the best cobalt, cleansed of all impurities, now produced a beautiful blue. Also, whereas in the 14th century you had decoration based on contemporaneous

woodblock engravings, in the Ming period designs were based on earlier Song Dynasty scroll paintings. Keep in mind that the Yuan Dynasty was one of foreign Mongol domination; by associating porcelain designs with the pre-Mongol Song Dynasty the Ming ruler was associating himself with an earlier, legitimate native Chinese dynasty. This period (1400-1435) was considered one of the two great periods of blue and white. The second great period, also Ming, was roughly 1465-1485, by which time the cobalt was so refined that it produced a soft, silvery blue. The decoration of this period became less scenic and pictorial and more based on one simple design motif such as a scrolling arabesque or lotus.

From the late 15th century onwards the taste for an expanding palette of colors continued. They learned to use copper as an overglaze enamel, fusing it at a lower temperature onto the surface of an already underglazed blue and white piece of porcelain. During this period the doucai technique was introduced (doucai meaning “dovetailed”) where a design was fired on a piece in underglaze blue and white and then overglaze enamels (red, green and yellow) were applied or “dovetailed” Continued on page 3

Ming Dynasty blue and white bowls: illustrating the progression from perfection to decadence Left: Probably Yongle reign, 1403-1424 Right: Zhengde reign, 1506-1521

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Robert Mowry on Ming Porcelain Continued from page 2 with the lines of the blue and white design. These overglaze enamels, fired at a lower temperature, are unfortunately susceptible to abrasion. Some of the most famous pieces from this period are the “chicken cups,” named for the chickens that appear in their decoration.

The first half of the 16th century is typified by the use of these very bold enamels without an underlying blue design. Some pieces have completely yellow overglaze grounds onto which is fired another color. By the late Ming period the design elements get smaller and tend to create a busier overall design. Also, parts of major elements such as the body of a dragon would be done completely in blue and the subsidiary elements, its claws, mane, etc., in overglaze enamels. There are also some new forms, such as openwork pieces, being introduced.

The Ming Dynasty collapsed about 1644 and was replaced by the Manchu dominated Qing Dynasty that lasted from 1644-1911. Pictorial elements taken from paper and silk were once again used as a major design influence. This porcelain decoration relied more heavily on the use of black, as the original paintings on silk and paper were copied in black ink. In addition, more

enamel colors were added to the palette, pink being one of the major innovations—actually introduced from the West by Jesuit missionaries who were familiar with the use of gold in creating pink Venetian glass. Another major innovation was the use of tin oxide as an “opacifier” to make a solid white enamel that could be used on its own or blended with other colors. With this blending ability an entire spectrum of colors was achievable and by the mid 18th century the decorators of fine Qing porcelain were capable of reproducing full-color paintings on porcelain with every shade and nuance of color. The Ming aspiration for a full, rich palette of enamels had been attained.

Doucai “chicken” cup Chenghua reign, 1465-1487

Myrna Schkolne on “People, Passions, Pastimes, and Pleasures: Staffordshire Figures, 1810-1835” Reviewed by Jeff Brown Our March meeting at The College Club convened to hear author and collector Myrna Schkolne speak on “People, Passions, Pastimes and Pleasures: Staffordshire Figures, 1810-1835.” Myrna has published a book with the same title on this, her favorite subject, and she delighted the group with a beautiful Powerpoint presentation of images and an elegant, informative lecture on these charming figures.

Up until about 1810, when there were great advances made in the printing industry, we would have been struck by how few visual images the general public was exposed to. With these early 19th-century technological advances, the average person’s “visual dictionary” was greatly expanded. The Staffordshire potters of the period fashioned enamel-decorated earthenware figures, sometimes based on these prints, that portrayed the im-

ages and sights of the day that would have been readily recognizable to the consumer in this visually expanding world. Sometimes the figures were taken directly from an engraving of the period, such as of a famous hunting hound (sports star of the day) or from popular books such as the Doctor Syntax series by Thomas Rowlandson. Figural groups such as courting couples were often rendered in front of an elaborate tree or shrub called a bocage. These bocages were usually made up of small, press-molded leaf components individually applied. A figural group can contain up to forty pressmolded components and would have required several molds and multiple enamel firings. Complicated figural molds were purchased from a specialty mold maker whereas bocages and other small elements were cast in Continued on page 4

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Myrna Schkolne on Staffordshire Figures Continued from page 3 molds made in-house. Oftentimes it is in scrutinizing these smallest of details that we can attribute certain figures to specific workshops or potters. The bold colors and simple charm of these figures have often garnered them the label of folk art. But, as folk art is usually an individual artistic expression by a generally untutored person, this classification does not apply to these figures. They were mass produced, but by means of a complicated process that involved many people and steps using some rather sophisticated techniques. The end products were aimed at the burgeoning middle classes and were not inexpensive knick-knacks. Between 1800 and 1835 a great many people were involved in the production of these figures; sadly very few of them ever marked their wares.

Many of these figures served as spill vases. The figures fronted or surrounded a vase that held slender tapers of rolled paper or wood that would be used to carry a flame from the fireplace to wherever you needed it. The figures in these wares had changed over the the turn of the century: early 19th-century figures display actions and poses based on reality, whereas figures from the 18th century were usually classically posed, based on some figure from antiquity. Early 19th-century figures are great recorders of the fashion extremes of the English Regency “dandy” period and portray details that would have long since been lost or forgotten. All manner of social behavior, romance and marriage, and faults and foibles were humorously and charmingly portrayed.

Important social issues of the time such as the abolition of slavery and the growth of the temperance movement were subjects for the potter, as well as glimpses of life that no longer exist such as rare representations of traveling menageries. These collections of exotic beasts toured the English countryside and enthralled rural audiences. In addition to the image of the actual menagerie (one of the rarest of all figures) there were figures of the animals themselves—everything from the ferocious lion (one who actually escaped a menagerie and killed several people was commemorated with a figure) to images of idyllic sheep—a source of enormous national pride thanks to generations of astute English husbandry. Other Continued on page 5

“POLITOS ROYAL MENAGERIE OF BURDS [sic] AND BEASTS FROM MOST PARTS OF THE WORLD LION &C”

“BULL BEATING, NOW CAPTIN [sic] LAD” Popular from the thirteenth century, bull baiting was a gambling sport that pitted dogs against larger, stronger animals

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Myrna Schkolne on Staffordshire Figures Continued from page 4 subjects for the pottery figures included popular pastimes and diversions such as street entertainers like organ grinders and their monkeys and troops of dancing dogs, as well as dancing bears and their trainers. Commemorative figures depicting diversions for the not too faint of heart included illegal bare-fisted boxing matches and, cruelest of all, bear and bull-baiting. There was, eventually, a backlash against such blood sports and “rational recreation” became the buzz-words of social reformers. Diversions such as reading, music, and gardening were promoted for civilized behavior and rational order...all depicted in Staffordshire figures.

So, in short, there was hardly a prominent social figure, custom, event or movement that did not escape the potter’s acute observation and adept talents. He rendered an entire world for us in enameled earthenware, and to hold a Staffordshire figure is truly to be holding a moment of time.

Editor’s note: All pictures accompanying this article are @ Myrna Schkolne 2006. See additional picture on back page.

“The Death of Munrow” In 1792, Lieutenant Hugh Munro, serving with the British in India, was savaged by a tiger. The Indian sultan Tipu is thought to have celebrated Munro’s death by commissioning an automaton. Known as Tippoo’s Tiger, the automaton was displayed in London from 1808 and probably inspired this earthenware figure

Bits and Pieces Reported by Yon Bard On February 28 we convened at the College Club of the owners provided me with their own pictures, so to view and discuss the usual assortment of interesting the following pages will not be entirely blank. pieces brought by our members. The bad news is that I Here, then, are the items of which I have pictures. goofed when photographing the pieces and all my pic- (more on next page). tures were out of focus. The good news is that several

From left: Tim Christensen Kirby, black-background sgraffito porcelain cup, Eskimo woman on ice with seal, contemporary; Conical covered mug, “China painters” decoration on Limoges body, early 20th c, painted by a relative of the Rice family, Portsmouth, NH ; Portsmouth NH souvenir plate, German, c. 1900

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Bits and Pieces

Top row, left to right: Chinese triple-gourd bottle, clobbered (probably in Amsterdam), Kangxi Double-gourd Chinese rosewater bottle, Kangxi Dedham Pottery vase, handthrown stoneware, crackleglazed, poppy decorated, 18961908 Middle row, left to right: Chinese Export incense holder, ca. 1770 Chinese Export saucer dish, circa 1730-40, possibly made for the Japanese market Bottom row: Pair of Chinese cosmetics jars: Ming period (left) and Kangxi (right), the latter in Chinese “soft-paste� porcelain

Please send comments/contributions to: Yonathan Bard, 6 Holland Street, Newton, MA 02458; telephone (617) 244-7688, fax (617) 965-2897, e-mail (the preferred venue!) doryon@rcn.com

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Upcoming Ceramics Events CSC Meetings All meetings at 1 PM at the College Club, 44 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston 4/24, The Influence of Salt-glazed Stoneware on English Creamware Design, Diane Edwards, CSC member 5/22, Annual Meeting and Tea; Survey of Fireplace Tiles in Early Portsmouth, NH Houses, Sandra Rux, CSC member.

Auctions Asian: 4/23-24, Eldred’s, Dennis MA 4/26, Skinner, Boston 5/13-15, Christie’s, London 5/14, Sotheby’s, London (Chinese) 5/27, Christie’s, Hong Kong (Chinse) 9/17, Christie’s, NY (Chinese) 9/18, Christie’s, NY (Japanese & Korean) British and/or continental: 4/22, Christie’s, London (Italian) 5/20, Christie’s, NY 6/3, Sotheby’s, NY 6/8, Sotheby’s, Paris (porcelain, Rouen stoneware) 7/12, Skinner, Boston, including pieces from the Frank and Eleanor Elsner Wedgwood Collection of Black and White Jasper, Wedgwood wares from the Frank and Shirley Coleman Collection, major collections of Royal Doulton and steins, good early toby jugs, and an important English porcelain luncheon service.

Vietnamese Ceramics from the Red River Delta At the Sackler Gallery, Washington, DC: Taking Shape: Ceramics in Southeast Asia Korean Ceramics Contemporary Japanese Ceramics Form and Design in Glass and Ceramics, Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine The Arnhold Collection of Meissen Porcelain, 1710–50, The Frick Collection, New York, NY, until 6/29/08 A Taste of Power: 18th-Century Porcelain for the Table, Busch-Reisinger Museum, Cambridge, MA, until 6/30/08. Consists of five figurines from Meissen, etc., that were used to decorate banquet tables.

Conferences etc: Fit for Queens and Commoners: 18th Century English Creamware, 4/26, Symposium at Historic Deerfield White Church Community Center. For more information contact Amanda Lange (see page 1) Eastfield Village Workshop: Slip Decoration on Ornamental and Utilitarian Earthenware, 16501850, 6/27-29. Lectures and demonstrations include: Leslie Grigsby: The Best is Not Too Good For You: English Slip-decorated Earthenware Oliver Kent: Slipware Making in North Devon Barbara Magid: Slipware from Alexandria: The Archaeological Evidence Jonathan & Jan Wright: Techniques of Slip Decoration Leslie Grigsby: German Stoneware & Earthenware: Their influences on American Ceramics Exhibitions: Anthony Butera: Slipware and its Influence on Long Alistair Sampson Collection of English Creamware, Island Pottery ongoing at the Flynt Center, Historic Deerfield Sam Herrup: 18th-century American Redware At the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, DC: Jonathan Rickard: Recent Dipped Ware Discoveries: Black & White Chinese Ceramics from the 10th- Details, Details, Details.

14th Centuries For more information contact Don Carpentier, Eastfield Tea for Everyone: Japanese Popular Ceramics Village, 104 Mud Pond Rd, East Nassau, NY 12062, for Tea Drinking (until 9/7/08) 518-766-2422 or www.greatamericancraftsmen.org.

The CSC 75th Anniversary Exhibition The title chosen for the exhibition is Shopping, Swapping, Saving, & Sleuthing. The exhibition will include pieces from the following categories: Fired in NE, Imported to NE, Descended in NE, Broken in NE, Collected in NE, and Celebrating NE.

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Contents A message from our president ................................................................................................ 1 Robert Mowry on Ming porcelain, report by Jeff Brown ....................................................... 1 Myrna Schkolne on Staffordshire figures, report by Jeff Brown .......................................... 3 Bits & pieces, report by Yon Bard ........................................................................................... 5 Upcoming Ceramics Events .................................................................................................... 7

Dandy and Dandizette The years 1810 to 1830 were the glory days of spiffy dandies and their ladies, sometimes called dandizettes. This dazzling group recalls an era when gentlemen cinched their waists with corsets to acquire elegant torsos, while ladies moved their waistlines nearer their underarms.

Staffordshire; photo @ Myrna Schkolne 2006