By the early thirteenth century Genghis Khan and his forces had annihilated the Xia dynasty that held sway in the north-western area of China and defeated the Jin army around Beijing. Up until 1225 the Mongols occupied an enormous territory that stretched as far as Samarqand, Bukhara and northern Iran. Genghis's grandsons enlarged the Mongol domains to include the rest of China and Iran. His grandson Khubilai Khan (1215-94) founded the Yuan dynasty and in 1279 finally defeated the Southern Song dynasty to gain control over all of China. Further west, Khubilai's brother H?leg? (1217-1265) conquered the 'Abbasid dynasty, which ruled from Baghdad. He established the Ilkhnid dynasty in Iran in 1259-60. Herein lie the seeds of the exchange of cultural ideas and artistic endeavors that would result in some Muslim patronage of the Jingdezhen kilns during the reign of the Emperor Zhengde (1506-21).
The governmental offices the Mongols built up differed from their traditional Chinese models in significant ways. The new rulers did not restore the civil service examinations that had long been the only means of recruiting officials. This led to the deviation from traditional practice, that of the recruitment of non-Chinese for government positions. The Mongol Khans appointed Muslims from Central Asia and Iran to be fiscal administrators and in one case governor of a province.
In their social and economic policies, the Mongols deviated from Chinese practice, in that they actively cultivated relations with foreigners. As pastoral nomads they had relied on trade, and now as rulers of vast civilizations they continued to foster commerce, in particular promoting the development of merchant associations. It was merchants from Iran and West Asia who transported most of the goods, and many remained in China, particularly ports like Quanzhor in south eastern China, where they formed self-governing communities, that built mosques, bazaars and hospitals. The Yuan dynasty's openness towards foreign religions allowed relations between China and Iran to flourish. Khubilai, in particular, recruited Muslims as supervisors of trade, dawghachi (commissioners), censors and tax collectors. He even recruited Persians and central Asians into his military forces.
By the time of the Zhengde reign, many of these families were fourth or fifth
generation, well ensconced in Chinese life, but still Muslim. In our first
Interior of blue and white
underglaze bowl, Zhengde four character mark and of the period
Catalogue Item No.5
catalogue we touched on the role of the eunuchs at court, but of course,
as can be seen by this introduction, the role of Muslims in Chinese society
was far wider than court life. The two most interesting pieces from our
selection this time are the deep
bowl [ no.5 ] and the wide flat
dish [ no.7 ]. The bowl has an invocation to Ali', the fourth caliph after the
prophet Muhammad, and the founder of the Sh?a branch of Islam. The shape
of the bowl can be found in the monochromes of the same period, and though
no metal forerunner has been uncovered, the steep sides and deep well would
suggest a Near Eastern prototype. This would hardly be made for a bureaucrat
or wealthy merchant, perhaps a more pious recipient like a high-ranking
Blue and white circular dish, Zhengde four character mark and of the period
Catalogue Item No.7
Muslim scholar/official. The second piece is an extraordinary work of art
in that it combines Arabic and Persian texts on the same object, a true
reflection of Muslim life at the time in China. As was stated in The Legacy
of Genghis Khan, Courtly Art and Culture in Western Asia, 1256-1353, the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002, the Chinese government opened in 1271
the Institute of Muslim Astronomy, a recognition of the superiority of Persian
astronomical instruments. They also imported thirty six volumes on Persian
medicine, and at the end of the thirteenth century the Yuan court established
the Muslim National College with Erudites for Teaching the Arabic Script,
in which officials were trained to translate and interpret Persian. These
measures ensured that anywhere in the Mongol domain there were a certain
number of bureaucrats who could communicate in Persian and Arabic. Two hundred
years later the two languages would appear on a Zhengde period dish.
The well carved eighteenth century cinnabar lacquer
vase [ no.20 ] is a very formal object in many ways and yet its origins may well
lie in the Chongzhen period in the seventeenth century. The shape would
18th Century cinnabar Lacquer Vase
Catalogue Item No.20
suggest a Yongzheng / early Qianlong date, coupled with the classic, formal
borders, but one part of the decoration of the scenes around the main body
hints at one of the innovations of the Chongzhen era, which was the flood
of narrative themes on porcelain, based on specific legends, poems, dramas
and novels. This resulted from the increased freedom of the ceramic decorators
Qianlong Lobed Lacquer Box, with 'Boys' design
Catalogue Item No.21
in choosing their subjects and the circulation of woodblock illustrated
books in the Wanli, Tiangi and Chongzhen reigns, such as the Xi Xiang Ji
(The Western Chamber) and the Shui Hu Zhuan (Water Margin). It is the latter
which may give us the subject matter for our vase, and if we look at Chinese
Ceramics of the Transitional Period: 1620-1683, China Institute in America,
1983, no.16, p.56, a covered jar, there is a similarity in the scenes, and
of course the nature of the composition, with rockwork and trees breaking
up the various theatrical vignettes. Equally impressive, but of different
construction, is a large, lobed cinnabar lacquer
box [ no.21 ],
Underglaze blue Stem Cup, decorated with scenes of playing boys
Catalogue Item No.10
remarkable for its condition after two hundred and fifty years,
the red lacquer largely untouched by sunlight or wear, and the nature of the subject matter,the 'Hundred Boy' design. Ironically, we have a porcelain
stem cup [ no.10 ] from
the late fifteenth century with a similar design, and it is on this material
that one would expect to find these scenes. The design works because of
the sheer size of the object, allowing the artist to spread the boys around
a landscape, as opposed to the more traditional format of a short scroll
around a piece of porcelain.
Over the years we have had various sculptural works of art, and they have tended
to be in stone, but this year we have a very powerful model of a guardian's head [ no.14 ]
Camphorwood Guardian Head, Ming Dynasty, 14th/15th Century
Catalogue Item No.14
in camphor wood. The strong scented wood gives an extra dimension to what is already an imposing, life-like sculpture. These figures were part
of a large class of lesser deities, or devas. They are the belligerent dvarapalas
and Chinese warrior heroes who protected the entrance of a sanctuary. In
China they became known as enwang, a pair of guardian deities. Four lokapalas
were responsible for protecting the Buddha and his Law, the sanctuary and
the congregation from dangers and threats of evil forces. Their images became
standard furnishing on a Buddhist altar platform and at the corners of a
stupa or a mandala. The waft of camphor wood will have reminded those devotees
of the presence of their protectors.
The porcelain of the Chenghua period (1465-87) is mostly delicate, renowned for its pure glossy glaze and for the
clearness of its underglaze blue decoration. This brief description of the ceramics from this period perfectly
describes the magnificent stem bowl [ no.11 ] painted with aquatic plants that is in our exhibition. The wide bank of
lotus plants that
Underglaze blue Stem Bowl, decorated with aquatic plants
Catalogue Item No.11
encompass the main bowl is a perfect example of the abandonment of elaborate border decorations,
so as not to detract from the main design. Blue and white wares made in the Xuande era used imported cobalt which
fired unevenly from pale blue to black but from the late Chenghua era Leping cobalt, called pingdeng, mined in Jiangxi
was used. This was much paler than imported cobalt, easier to control and gave a more even pigment. Plants were
amongst a number of motifs used on Chenghua porcelain, and the use of lotus blowing gently in a breeze is perfectly
suited to the shape and contours of the stem bowl, a form originally adapted from Tang metalwork shapes.
We should like to thank Alan Tabor for his photography.
Christopher Knapton
Nader Rasti
Autumn 2005
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