A General Survey of Ancient Trade Ceramics Recovered from Sumatra Jambi Batang Kumpeh

 

For many antique dealers and collectors, Jambi has since 2022 emerged as a rich and exciting hunting ground for ancient Chinese trade ceramics.  Of particular interest is the significant quantity of good quality Southern Song Longquan wares that flooded the antique market.  Subsequently, it became clear that they were recovered from Batang Kumpeh in Muara Kumpeh.  According to a couple of friends who have visited the location, an estimated number varying from 100 to 200 boats are plying Batang Kumpeh and diving for underwater treasures near its confluence with the main river Batang Hari.  One can visualise the daily hive of activity and sense the air of excitement and disappointment the moment the ceramics were retrieved from the river.


Besides Longquan,  there are sizeable quantity of  12/13th century Guangdong and Fujian ceramics.  There are also some good and interesting Jiangxi Jingezhen qingbai and even the occasional rare finds of Yaozhou and Jizhou wares.  The bulk of  the trade ceramics recovered appears to be from the 12/13th century.  There are also small quantity of earlier and later wares.  According to information provided by a friend, some divers have disclosed that there were also Yue wares which are buried deeper in the bottom of the river and too hazardous to attempt to recover.  This friend has acquired a beautiful piece of Northern Song Yue ewer with carved parrot decoration from the location.

From Facebook, we are able to see numerous pieces of ancient Chinese ceramics originated from Batang Kumpeh offered for sale by Indonesian dealers.   This river is indeed a precious depository of Ancient Chinese Ceramics spanning more than a Thousand years.  In fact,  Southeast Asia Thai and Vietnamese ceramics of the late 14th/16th ceramics that dominated that phase of trade ceramic history due to the Ming Ban on overseas trade, also left their traces. 

To me it offers an opportunity to put together a good source of reference material which can enhance our understanding of ancient ceramic trade in Jambi and also generally of Southeast Asia region .  Although the recovery is not scientifically conducted and alot of useful contextual information were lost,  we can still draw quite an accurate picture of the nature of the ceramic trade and their chronological order by comparing them to available information from shipwreck cargoes in Southeast Asia region and kiln excavation reports from China.  Hence, it is still useful to gather the available information before they are dispersed across the world in this internet age and lost with the passage of time. 


Varied range of 12/13th Cent. Chinese Ceramics recovered from Batang Kumpeh
 
 
From google search , I came across an article written by Dr. Edwards Mckinnon regarding a surface archaeological survey of Muara Kumpeh Hilir conducted in the early 1980s.  According to him, another historian Schlegel has  suggested that "Muara Kumpeh was a principal port of the country (of Jambi) and it occupied a strategic location on the approach to Jambi" which was around 72 km upstream on the Batang Hari. 

Ceramics sherds collected from the river bank by Dr Mckinnon revealed that they dated to 12/14th century.  Suak Kandis on the opposite bank of the river also revealed similar findings.

Historical background of the Malayu Kingdom

Large quantity of remnants of ceramic findings basically reflected large volume of ancient ceramic trade and indirectly substantiated fragmentary historical records that suggested that for a certain duration the centre of political and commercial power gradually shifted to Jambi from Palembang after Srivijaya was defeated by the Chola in 1025. A.D.  Between 1079 and 1088, Chinese records show that Srivijaya sent ambassadors from Jambi and Palembang. In 1079 in particular, an ambassador from Jambi and Palembang each visited China. Jambi sent two more ambassadors to China in 1082 and 1088. This suggests that the centre of Srivijaya frequently shifted between the two major cities during that period


The Malayu or Mauli Kingdom was finally  established in 1183 A.D and lasted until its conquest in the 14th century by Majapahit.  It is interesting to note that in terms of proportion, the quantity of ceramics that dated to the 13th cent. constituted the largest number.  Equally important is the large number of high quality Longquan celadon wares which indirectly reflected the econoimic prosperity that the region enjoyed.  From geopolitical point of view, the Melayu Kingdom apparently was at its strongest during the 13th cent. and trade was likely also an important source of its power and prosperity.

From Wikipedia:

Mauli was a dynasty of kings that ruled the Bhumi Malayu or Dharmasraya kingdom, centered in the Batanghari river system (today Jambi and West Sumatra provinces, Sumatra), from the 11th century to the 14th century.[1] Most Mauli kings were Mahayana—Vajrayana Buddhists.

The dynasty appeared almost two centuries after the fall of the Sailendra dynasty that ruled Srivijaya, after the Chola invasion in 1025, led by Rajendra from Tamil Nadu, India. It seems that the family was once the member of the Srivijayan mandala and stepped into the power to rule the former Srivijayan mandala which included Sumatra and Malay Peninsula. The dynasty was based on the Batanghari river system, initially centered in Muaro Jambi, and considered as the successor state of Srivijaya. In the later period, the kingdom's capital shifted inland upstream from Batanghari to Dharmasraya, and later moved further inland to Pagaruyung in present-day West Sumatra province.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauli

Unlike Palembang where ancient physical traces of the once powerful Srivijaya empire were few, a large Buddhist temple complex in Muaro Jambi Regency bear witness to its past glory. It is situated 26 kilometers east from the city of Jambi. The temple complex was built by the Melayu Kingdom, with its surviving temples and other archaeological remains estimated to date from the 7th to 13th century CE. The archaeological site includes eight excavated temple sanctuaries and covers about 12 square kilometers, stretches 7.5 kilometers along the Batang Hari River, 80 menapos or mounds of temple ruins, are not yet restored. It is one of the largest and best-preserved ancient temple complexes in South East Asia.

   
     


A friend visited the site recently and was able to find fragments of ancient Chinese ceramics from the temple complex.
 
Good quality Green and Qingbai fragments found at the Temple complex



Analysis of the Categories of Ancient Chinese Ceramics Recovered from Batang Kumpeh


Basically, the ancient Chinese ceramics recovered can be categorised into 4 main groups spanning around 2 centuries from 12th to 13th century.   There are also those that were dated earlier and later than this time frame.  They are excluded from the study as the quantity appear to be comparatively much lesser which essentially reflected Jambi relatively weak geopoltical position as the region was subjugated by the Srivijaya and Majapahit empire respectively. 

For more detailed discussion of the ceramics found in each of the category, please click below links:

 

Northern Song Guangdong Ceramics

Song/Yuan Fujian ceramics

Late Northern Song/Early Yuan Longquan celadon

Southern Song Jiangxi Jingdezhen and other kilns


 Closing Remarks


Based on currently available information, it appears that the Indonesian divers have recovered most of the Longquan pieces from the existing location.  The divers have shifted to other locations in Batang Kumpeh and so far most ceramics found are of Fujian and Guangdong origin.  I intend to update this article periodically once more materials are available.

 

Written by: NK Koh (1 Apr 2023)