Pre- Colonial (before 1819 A.D) period Ceramics found in Singapore

 

In a letter written on 21 Jan 1823 to William Marsden from his residence at the top of  Fort Canning Hill, Sir Stamford Raffles wrote that  : "....the tombs of the Malay kings are close at hand and I have settled that if it is my fate to die here I shall take my place amongst them ..".   Apparently, he believed that Fort Canning hill was the site which ancient Malay kings resided.

 

 

 

 

Past history of Singapore according to Serjarah Melayu (Malay Annals)

His knowledge of the past history of Singapore was basically derived from the Malay literary work, Serjarah Melayu, also called the Malay Annals.  It contained semi historical and mythical narrations on the descents of the Malay kings of Melaka, the great Malay maritime port of the 15th century.  It also dealt with events which are probably both a mixture of myths and facts of the period and information on the unique system of government, administration and politics. The kings were said to be the descendants of Alexander the Great.  One of them, Sang Nila Utama visited an Island where he sighted a lion-like animal.  He named the island Singapura, i.e. the Lion city.   He established a state there which according to the Malay annals lasted for about a 100 years and ruled by a total of 5 kings over the span of 14^th century.  According the Malay Annals, the 5th king Sultan Iskandar Shah humiliated his mistress due to some rumours.  She was the daughter of the treasury officer.  Out of anger, he assisted the Majapahit empire to invade Singapore.  The sultan fled with his followers and eventually founded Melaka.  Another much quoted conflicting account stated that the 5th ruler of Singapura was Parameswara.  He was a prince from Palembang who failed in an attempt to set up a state there.   He was pursued by the army from Majapahit  and fled to Singapura .  He murdered the local ruler and ruled for 5 years.  He was forced to abandon Singapura after the ruler of Patani, who was the brother of the murdered local ruler, led an army to seek revenge.   Despite different accounts on the identity of the last ruler of Singapura,  one thing was certain.  A thriving community existed in Singapore during the 14th century and there was a ruler.  The Malay Annals depicted it as a prosperous state and a golden phase in the Malay history.  

Unfortunately, all the surface remnants of building structures and artefacts on Fort Canning were destroyed when the fortress was built in 1859.  Other artefacts on the top of the hill were removed during the process of building a covered reservoir in 1926 and the underground command centre for the British Far East Command in the 1930s.  A split sandstone boulder with ancient inscription standing at the mouth of the Singapore river was destroyed in 1843 to make way for development.  It is also termed the Singapore stone.  Fragments of the inscriptions were kept in Singapore National museum and the Calcutta Museum.  The inscription was written in a form of kawi script which dated to Majapahit or earlier.  It could have shed some light on the past history of Singapore. 

 

Past History of Singapore Revealed by Archaeological Excavations

To learn more about the past, archaeological excavations were carried out on a site near the Keremat at Fort Canning in 1984, a site at the New Parliament house in 1994 and a site at Empress place in 1998.  The excavations uncovered large amount of pottery and porcelain fragments.  Analysis of the fragments found at the Fort Canning site showed that they dated to the 14th century ie equivalent to the Yuan period.  Other fragments were from the 19th century and later. Numerous number of glass beads and fragments of glass artefacts were also found at the site.  It appears to corroborate its past stated history.  The place was abandoned towards the end of 14^th century when the ruler fled to Melaka.   The Malays called Fort Canning Hill by the name  "Bukit Larangan" ie the Forbidden Hill.  Their ancestors had told them tales of the past glory of Singapore and that the ghosts of the past kings haunted the place.  Hence it is sort of a sacred place and taboo for common folks to set foot on the hill.

 

 

On the other two sites, majority of the ceramic fragments recovered were similar to those on Fort Canning.  However, there were also small amount that could be dated to the late 15/16th century.  The rest were from 19th century onward.   When the local ruler fled for Melaka, some of the natives continued to stay at the area below the Hill near the Singapore river.  During the 15th century, Melaka became the great dominant trading port in the Southeast Asia region and controlled the flow of goods between the East and West.   

The types of Chinese ceramic fragments basically were similar to those trade ceramics found in other sites in Southeast Asia.  The large quantity of 14^th century Chinese trade ceramics uncovered provided irrefutable strong physical evident that Singapura was an important entrepot which was the foundation of its prosperity during the 14^th century.  Southeast Asia is strategically located along the maritime trade route, linking the East and West.  Ancient maritime travel between East and West was dictated by the monsoon wind.  Sumatra in Indonesia/East Malaysia was an ideal region to break the journey and await the change of wind to bring one to the next destination.   Besides supplying regional exotic, aromatic products and spices desired by merchants from the East and West, it also served as entrepot and emporium for the trading of goods between the East and West region.  Since the first millennium, many Southeast Asian states had capitalized on this advantage and prospered. Major maritime powers of this region included Srivijaya of the 7th to 13th Century, Majapahit of 13th/15th Century and Malacca of 14th/16th Century.  Singapura had tapped on its strategic position to fulfill a similar role and enjoyed a golden period of prosperity during the 14^th century.  Besides silk and lacquer, ceramics was another key export by the Chinese to Southeast Asia region and the West.  Because of its durability, it became the only major historical testament and evidence of ancient maritime trade. 

During the 14th Century Yuan period, the main types of Chinese ceramics exported can be broadly classified as from 3 regions in China:

 

• Zhejiang Longquan kiln – Green glaze wares which is more popularly termed celadon in the West. Visually, the colour can vary from different shades of green or brown.  The kilns were producing green ware for export since Song Dynasty and till mid Ming period.  The vessel forms consisted of mainly plates, bowls, jars/jarlets and ewers.  For more information regarding Longquan celadon, please read this article.

 

 

• Jiangxi Jingdezhen kilns – Qingbai, a form of light bluish glaze ware.  Shufu, a form of white ware with opaque whitish or duck green glaze colour  tone. Blue and white wares with underglaze cobalt pigment blue decoration.  Relatively small number of under-glaze red ware with decoration using copper pigment as the colorant. Please read following articles for more information regarding: Jingdezhen Qiangbai , Yuan blue and white and Shufu ware.

14th Cent. Qingbai figurines excavated from Empress Place

Some examples of My Yuan blue and white and copper red ware

• Southern Fujian kilns – White and Qingbai­­­ wares, many with impressed decoration from Dehua and Putian kilns. Green wares especially those from Putian and other kilns near Quanzhou such as Cizao kiln.  Brown glaze jars/jarlets and brown/green lead glaze jarlets/ewers from kilns near Quanzhou such as Cizao and Guangdong Nanhai Qishi kiln. For more on Fujian trade ceramics, please read this article. 

 

Brown glaze jars found at Old Parliament House

The white fragments on the bottom right is lightly from Dehua

Fujian Cizao green/brown lead glaze fragments from Empress place

Examples of green/brown lead glaze vessels from private collection

14th cent. Guangdong Nanhai Qishi kiln brown glaze jar

• Among the numerous 14^th cent. Sherds excavated in Singapore, there are few fragments with iron black painted decoration which can be traced to the Hebei Cizhou kiln.  14^th Cent.  Cizhou wares were known to be exported and some could be found in the Indonesia Trowulan, site of the ancient political centre of the Majapahit Kingdom.

  

  

  Examples of Cizhou iron black decoration fragments found in Singapore

  

  A complete Cizhou jar from my collection

   

Despite the fact that most ceramic fragments fond were relatively small in size, there are still some significant pieces.  Among them are the following:

 

 

 

One of the most important find from the Fort Canning archaeological dig are some fragments from a bowl with Yuan blue and white decoration of the compass. It is the earliest known example of compass decoration on porcelain vessel. The earliest written record of the use of compass for navigation was during the Northern Song Dynasty. The typical navigational compass was in the form of a magnetized needle floating in a bowl of water to set the direction. This excavated example has 24 positions as compared with the later version which has 48 positions. You can view the fragments at the NUS museum.

 

Jar fragments with the impressed word 火长

 

The navigator is the person in charge of the ship navigation. The navigator's primary responsibility is to be aware of the ship position at all times. His expertise included observing the stars at night and the sun during the day to determine the position of the ship. When the weather is bad and visibility poor, he used the compass to guide him. He was also in charge of the navigation map with navigation instructions and various topographic features and landmarks to guide him to a specified destination.

The Chinese name for the navigator is Huo Zhang (火长）. Interestingly, among the artifacts found at Fort Canning, there are some remaining fragments of a 4 lugs jar from the Fujian kiln with the impressed characters 火长 on one piece. Apparently, it was supposed to be an item that belonged to the navigator.

Why were two items linked to a Chinese navigator found at Fort Canning？ Indeed a mystery which we might not be able to find an answer.

Incidentally, sometime in the 1980s there was a Yuan wreck found near Pulau Nipah in the Strait of Singapore.  Unfortunately, it was not salvaged scientifically.  But some of the artifacts are on display at the Asian Civilisation of Singapore. Typical Yuan celadon Longquan big plates with impressed floral motif and dark brown glaze jars likely from Fujian, with Cizao kiln being a likely candidate.

 

 

 

China was a major trading partner, not just as the main supplier of goods such as porcelains and silk but it was also a major consumer of products such as spices and aromatic products from the region. As trade was the life blood, the prosperity of Singapura was likely adversely impacted by the ban.

So far, very little is known about the nature of the sherds found that could be attributed to this duration. Some of the shipwrecks found in this region and dating to this period are important reference materials. The earliest is the Turiang wreck which was dated to around the time just before or after the Hongwu ban was imposed. The main cargo was Longquan celadon and some Thai Sisatchanalai kiln celadon and iron-black painted wares. The Nanyang wreck dated to around 1380 carried mainly Sisatchanalai celadon and Sukhothai iron-black painted wares. Lastly, the Longquan wreck dated to around 1400 that carried Sisatchanalai celadon, Sukhothai iron-brown painted wares and also significant Chinese Longquan celadon. Despite the Ming Ban, some Chinese ceramics still managed to make their way overseas. But by 1400, Thailand has emerged as a dominant supplier. There are some Thai Sisatchanalai celadon shards found but likely dating to later half of 15th cent. There are also some 16th cent. Sisatchanalai iron-black painted sherds. So far I have not come across any of the Sukhothai iron-black painted shards.

From other reference sources, we know that Vietnam also started to export some ceramics especially the iron-brown painted ware. I noticed one among the sherds excavated from Parliament House complex which is dated to late 14th - early 15th cent. The most prominent Vietnamese export ware must however be the blue and white emerged as an important product during the 2nd half of 15th century.

For more regarding Southeast Asian Trade Ceramics, please read this article:

Late 15th/early 15th cent. Vietnam iron-brown fragment found in Singapore Parliament House site.  The right is a bowl with the similar decoration.

 

After Parameswara fled to establish the Kingdom of Malacca, Singapore was under the dominion of the Siam. There is very little archaeological material to enlighten situation in Singapore during the 1st half of 15th cent.

During the later half of 15th cent. Singapore was re-taken from the Siam by the Malacca Army. Interestingly, there are quite a few sherds found at Empress Place and Parliament House complex that can be dated at least from the last quarter of 15th cent. onward. Some are on display at the NUS museum. It would appear that Singapore has again enjoyed increased economic activity, benefitting from close association and relationship with Malacca, an international trading centre. This change in the fortune likely lasted until the fall of Malacca to the Portuguese in 1511.

The Ming sherds from that period was also a reflection of changes in the international maritime trade scene. From the last quarter of the 15th cent. Chinese porcelains, especially blue and white were again exported in large quantity. This is substantiated by several shipwrecks such as Lena Cargo, Sta. CRUZ in Philippines and the Brunei wreck. By the time of Chenghua/Hongzhi (1464— 1505 A. D) , the Ming ban had become ineffective and largely ignored. The tribute system which allowed some level of trade through official channel has essentially collapsed. For the first 6 years of Hongzhi reign, the court only received two tribute missions, from Champa and Siam, through Guangzhou. During Hongzhi reign, an official Qiu Jun (丘浚）appealed to the court to lift the ban on overseas trading. This was an indication of the general sentiments on the ground. It also suggested that the court's attitude and position towards the ban has also likely softened. There was rampant illegal overseas trade controlled by large syndicates operated by the rich landlords, merchants and corrupted officials. The temporary lifting of the ban during the reign of Zhengde (1505 - 1521 A. D) further boosted trade.

To find out more regarding Ming Chinese Folk kiln blue and white ceramics, please read this article.

Ming fragments are indicated with red dot

Two late 15th cent. Ming Blue and white bowls from my collection
There are several fragments found with the same rim decoration of this Zhangzhou kiln plate (1600 - 1620 A.D)

 

Among the fragments dating to the second half of 15th to first quarter of 16th cent. excavated at Empress place, there were also some Vietnamese blue and white and overglaze enamelled wares , Thai Sawankhalok celadon and iron-black decorated covered boxes. .    As mentioned earlier, 15th century was an important golden phase for Thai and Vietnamese trade ceramics.

 

Empress Place Vietnamese blue and white and overglaze enamelled fragments

 

Empress Place Thai Celadon and iron-black decorated fragments

Samples of Thai and Vietnamese wares from my collection

 

The Portuguese conquered Melaka in 1511 and the Melaka loyalty fled and subsequently founded the Johore Sultanate.  For most of the time, it still held dominion over Singapore which probably served mainly as an outpost of the Johore sultanate with its capital near the Johore river.  No substantive evidence is available to show that Singapore played a significant role in the trade which the Johore Sultanate continued to enjoy.  The goods were shipped up the Johore river.  Large amount of 16th/17th Chinese blue and white were found at Johore Lama, at one point the capital of the Johore Sultanate. 

 

Singapore was the site of the power tussles of various regional powers such as the Johore Sultanate, Aceh, Jambi, Siak, Bugis, Portuguese and Dutch at different point of time. There were some written accounts of ancient battles in Singapore.   

 

Comparatively, very little porcelain fragments dating to the 2nd half of 16th/17th cent. were found in Singapore. From the Empress place excavation, I do see some fragments from the Fujian Zhangzhou kiln dating to around 1600-1620 A.D. So far, the most significant find must be some Ming Wanli period blue and white fragments of bowls, plates and a vase which were recovered from the Kallang estuary when the Kallang river was dredged up to clean the river in the late 1960/70. 

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Late 16^th Cent blue and white fragments from Kallang River

Singapore regained its place as an important entrepot after it was chosen as the location to establish a free port in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles.

 

Reference:

Early Singapore 1300s-1891 - Evidence in Maps, Text and Artefacts

 

Written by Koh Nai King:  14 Mar 2020