A study of Ceramics in the Cirebon Wreck

In 2003, local fishermen found Chinese ceramics in their fishing nets in the Java Sea at a depth of about 54m and 100 km from Cirebon in Central Java. The wreck, termed Cirebon wreck was subsequently salvaged by a private company in 2004. There were about 250,000 artefacts recovered, 65% of which consisted of Chinese and other ceramics, 10% Near East and Indian glassware, gemstones and the rest consisted of ingots and manufactured implements of iron and other metals.

The ship was identified as of Indonesian-made which was used for intra-region trade. The ship had likely loaded the cargo in one of the Srivijaya controlled port and was sailing for a port in Central or Eastern Java. The sizeable quantity of goods in the cargo suggested that there was big consumer market in Java. The discovery of this wreck in that region is hardly surprising. Taking into consideration the political development in Java, the ship was most likely heading towards a port in East Java During the 8-10th century, the Mataram Kingdom, a Hindu–Buddhist kingdom ruled central Java. It was a serious rival to the hegemonic Srivijaya Empire with its centre of power in Palembang. Its economic power was derived mainly from agricultural and did not challenge the maritime trade monopoly of Srivija. However by early 10th century, economic and population in Java shifted towards the East Java Brantas delta (Surabaya region). Its economic strength became more diversified, drawing both from agriculture and participation in maritime trade. Inscriptions found in Java provided evidence of the trade networks operating in the ports such as Jepara, Tuban and Gresik of the Brantas delta during the 10th-13th century.

Dating of the Chinese ceramics and wreck

In the cargo, there were some lead coins with the "Qian Heng Zhong Bao" 乾亨重宝 wordings. Those coins were first minted in 917 A.D during the early reign of the State of Nanhan， a 5 Dynasties kingdom which ruled the area covering present day Guangdong, Guangxi, Hanoi and the island of Hainan. This firmly placed the dating of the wreck at least on or later than 917 A.D. We are lucky to find in the cargo a Yue ceramic bowl with an inscribed cyclical date 'wu chen' (戊辰) and a workshop mark of 'Xu Ji Shao' (徐记烧). Coupled with close examination of the stylistic characteristics of the Yue wares, Chinese experts confirmed a dating of 968 A.D for the Chinese ceramics from the wreck. As those ceramics were produced and intended for local or export market, they are unlikely to be antique and taking into consideration the production and distribution time duration, the wreck is unlikely to be more than 5 years from 968 A.D. It was the time of dynastic transition from 5 Dynasties to Northern Song. The state of Nanhan and Wuyue which produced the Yue wares were finally incorporated into the Song empire in 971 and 978 A.D respectively.

Analysis of the Chinese Ceramics in the cargo

The Chinese ceramics consisted of mainly Yue greenware and small quantity of white wares and Guangdong greenware jars and basin. It is interesting to note that Changsha painted ceramics, an important Tang export both found in the Belitung and Vietnam Binh Chau wreck of the 9th century, were not found in this wreck. It confirmed that sometime during the 1st half of the 10th century, Changsha wares had completed it's historic role as an important component of Chinese trade ceramics. This offers further corroborating evidence to the archaeolgical findings in China which placed the terminal production date for Changsha kilns as during the 5 Dynasties. During the 5 Dynasties period, Yue kilns further consolidated its position as the dominant greenware production centre. Its strong market position persisted till the early Northern Song period. This was probably the golden era for Yue ware. It captured the lion share of overseas market for both high and low end ceramics. Domestically its illustrious competitor, Xing white ware which was produced in kilns in Hebei had declined due to the changing political landscape. 5 Dynasties was a period of great social upheaval in central China (中原) which inevitably also disrupted production activities. The white wares in the Cirebon wreck were widely believed to be the products of Ding kilns which emerged as the new pre-eminent white ware centre during the 5 Dynasty period/Northern Song period. However, recent archaeological findings revealed that the source of white wares is more varied than earlier thought. They were initially believed to be confined to Northern China. But this may not be the case and will be discussed later.

Yue Greenware

Zhejiang Yue kilns have a long tradition of greenware production which based on archaeological evidence could be traced to at least the Zhou period. After a long period with intermittent disruptions in production caused by wars, the potters finally produced a mature form of greenware by Eastern Han period. It is widely believed to be the birth place of porcelain wares. Yue ware is highly regarded and widely praised by the literati class since the Tang Dynasty. Together with Xing white wares, they represented the highest standard of porcelain production in China. During the 9th century, the best Yue ware was called Mise porcelain, literally meaning secret colour porcelain. The late Tang literati, Lu Guimeng (died A.D. 881) in his poem "秘色越器" Mise Yueqi (secret colour Yue ware) mentioned that Yue wares were fired in misty and windy autumn and described the colour of yue ware as "green from trees despoiled from thousand peaks".

The 9th century represented the first peak of Yue ware production in terms of quality and quantity. Drinking of tea became an established popular social habit and there was huge demand for related utensils such as ewers and bowls. Yue greenware is widely recognised as the preferred medium for tea drinking. Tang literati Lu Yue 's (陆羽) classic work "Cha Jing (茶经), commented that Yue green bowl projected aesthetically the most pleasing colour of the tea drink when compared with bowls from other famous kilns of the period. As a recognised domestic and international brand, it commanded the highest price and catered more to higher end of the society. Those found in the Belitung wreck is representative of the quality of 9th cent. Yue wares. Although its original icy green glaze has degraded due to corrosive action of the sea water, its superb quality in terms of thin potting and elegant form is apparent.

The production during the 5 Dynasties/Northern Song was highest before its final decline and demise by the late Northern Song period. The state of Wu Yue (907 - 978), ruled by the Qian family, controlled Zhejiang province where the Yue kilns were located. There was relative stability and the ruler focused on economic development. The state placed much attention to develop the Yue porcelain industry. Huge quantity was produced and sent as tributes to strong states to promote and secure peace. The wares were of very high quality and large quantity were also exported to generate revenue for the state coffer. Indeed, majority of the Yue wares found in Southeast Asia can be dated to the 5 Dynasties/Northern Song period. The Cirebon wreck from the transitional period to Northern Song, carried large quantity of Yue wares which impressed with its high quality and interesting varied form and incised decorations.

Archaeological surveys revealed that the number of kilns which produced Yue greenware multiplied in number and spreaded over an extensive area, the most important centres being Shanglin lake (上林湖), Dongqian lake (东钱湖), Yuyao (余姚) and Shangyu (上虞). Shanglin was the most important centre which produced the finest quality Yue wares, the best of which were termed mise porcelain. Those from Dongquan lake were also of high quality and likely another production centre tasked with producing tribute wares. There were more than 80 and 35 Five Dynasties/Northern Song kiln sites discovered in Shanglin lake and Dongqian lake respectively. Together they produced the bulk of the tribute fine mise Yue wares. The large production capacity also enabled sizeable quantity to be exported overseas. The port of Mingzhuo (明州), ie present day Ningbo (宁波) served as an emporium and transhipment point where Yue wares and ceramics from other kilns were assembled and distributed to other coastal ports and overseas. In the ancient Chinese text on history of Tang, Xin Tang shu (新唐书), there were information related to maritime trade routes originating from Mingzhou. They included that to Northeast Asia/East Asia ie towards Korea/Japan and Southward route to Guangzhou port and further south towards Southeast Asia and westward to West Asia and Middle East.

The Cirebon cargo is indeed a treasure trove of Yue wares. Many of the vessel forms and incised motifs produced by the Yue kilns during the 5 Dynasties were available in this cargo. The quality is varied, ranging from mediocre to high, revealing that Yue kilns were able to meet the demand of various strata of the society.

Indeed, the quantity of mediocre quality bowls intended for the lower end of the market was large. The bowl has a ring of marks left by clay lumps/stripes on the interior and unglaze foot. It indicates that stacking method was used to maximise usuage of kiln space. For the high quality piece, the foot is fully glazed and remnant of clay marks are on the outer base. The absence of clay marks on the interior indicates that each was fired in separate saggar.

Bowls and dishes constituted a large proporton of vessels transported in the vessel. Besides those plain type, there are those with floral mouth and/or fluted wall and splayed foot. They are in fact modelled on the contemporaneous silver form. The most popular and perennial decoration was carved lotus petals in high relief on the outer wall. This was an iconic form of decoration of the 5 Dynasties/Song period. Some of the fine ones are decorated with superb incised decoration.

Another highly demanded group of vessels was ewers of varying sizes. The majority are plain without decoration. The number imported was large and I have encountered many which were purportedly recovered from the Musi river in Palembang. For the high end market there were some elaborately decorated with fine incised or carved/sgrafitto high relief motif.

Pots also constituted an important component in the cargo and relatively large quantity was recovered. Besides those which are plain or with fluted body, there are significant quantity with the perennial carved lotus petals. Those decorated with finely incised decoration are few.

Besides those from Yue kiln, there is also a type with carved lotus motif which has a lighter green glaze. The carving is deeper and appears more rough as compared to those from the Yue kiln. This type with a distinctive lighter green glaze is most likely from Zhejiang Wenzhou (温州) kilns. Generally they are classified as Yue-type in view of similarity to Yue wares.

Besides the above, in the cargo there is small quantity of Yue cover boxes, cups and rare makara-shaped oil lamp, multi-layered food tray, cupstand, bird whistle, counch and etc.

Decorative techniques applied by the Yue potters included carving, incising, sgraffito, applique, moulding and open work. Those motifs in high relief involved the sgraffito technique in which the outline of the motif is carved and outlaying area reduced by shaving.

Mouding method was used to shape the form of phoenix head, counch, makara, deer, bird and etc.

The most frequently used techique was fine incising which was introduced by the Yue potters during the late Tang period but became the dominant decorative technique during the 5 Dynasties/Northern Song period. There was wide range of interesting motifs available, the most common being phoenix, dragon, parrot, bird, cicada, floral/vegetal and relatively small number of human subjects.

The cicada motif is sometime identified and labelled as moth or butterfly. The below picture illustrated the differences in term of the physical characteristics. Cicada is impregnated with auspicious symbolism in Chinese decoration. It was a symbol of transformation and resurrection. Its life cycle involves living underground for 13 to 17 years, then emerges in larval form and finally breakout into the form that we usually associated with cicada. In ancient Chinese religious rituals, placing a jade cicada in the mouth of the deceasd is believed to confer permanence, purity and transformation to deathless. Besides jade, the cicada was also represented in other medium such as silver cover boxes and inkstone from the Belitung wreck. Hence, from cultural and religious point of view, the cicada interpretation is the most appropriate.

Inscription on Yue ware is not uncommon. Chinese expert on Yue ware, Lin Shi Min (林士民) has grouped those found on vessels and kiln furniture in Yue kiln sites of the Wu Yue period into 11 category, the more common being the following:

In the wreck, we have one bowl which has the workshop mark and cyclical date (徐记烧戊辰) incised on the outer base. The most common inscriptions found on the outer base of vessels in this wreck are well-written 大 or 上. Based on Lin's interpretation, they could be surname or 上 could also be a locational indication. Those vessels with those marks are typically of fine quality. Some other rare inscription included 天下太平, which literally means peace in the world, incised on the inner wall and the other with many 大 character incised on the external base of the bowl. The quality of both bowls are mediocre and the characters crudely written.

In the wreck, there are significant quantity of white wares which have generally been identified as from the Ding kiln. The bulk consisted of bowls and the rest vases, jars, ewers, cover boxes and etc. Stylistically, the vessel form is different from similar Yue vessel.

Indeed, the white glaze of the wares from the Cirebon wreck showed similar characteristics to those produced in northern China kilns. However, closer examination showed that exposed paste of at least some of the vessels is not as fine grained as that of Ding ware. Archaeological surveys in China in the last 2 decades has revealed that by the 5 Dynasties, white ware production was not confined solely to kilns in the north. Central China (中原) which included Hebei and Henan was in a state of severe social upheaval during the 5 Dynasties (907 - 960 A.D). Since the ancient past, this was the political centre of China and any party aspiring to rule China would have to take control of that region. It resulted in 5 dynastic changes within a short span of about 50 years. The constant war disrupted economic activities and hence the livelihood of the people. Many were forced to flee and migrate to the South. Among them were potters who brought with them the skill and technology of porcelain production. In 1996, two archaeologists Zhang Yong (张勇) and Li Guang Ning (李广宁) from Anhui attended the Annual Ancient Ceramics Society Conference in Fujian Jianyang. They brought along some white shards which were excavated from Anhui Jingxian Yangong kiln (安徽泾县晏公窑). This triggered renewed interest in the study of Xuanzhou (宣州) white ware. Xuanzhou was located in present day Anhui. It was mentioned in Jingdezhen Tao ge (景德镇陶歌), a Qing Jiaqing/Daoguang text which recorded poetic verses related to porcelain production. The writer had stayed in Jingdezhen and gathered those information from potters who were also custodians of collective memory of matters related to porcelain production passed down orally by their ancestors. According to Li Guang Ning, he interviewed the villagers who stayed near Yangong kiln. He gathered that their ancesters were from Northern China. The bowl exhibited by Li and Zhang during the conference is indeed very similar to those excavated in Anhui and some from the Cirebon wreck. A very distinctive feature is the layer of whitish slip found on the outer base. The foot also look identical and all exhibit clear circular potting lines on the outer wall of the bowl. Two bowls from the Cirebon wreck are illustrated below for comparison. The similarilty is striking and hence they could be from the same kiln.

Unfortunately so far only preliminary survey has been carried out at Yangong kiln. A more extensive survey would be required to understand the range of products from the kiln. In fact, white wares were also produced by the kilns in Fanchang (繁昌). Luo Chong kiln (洛冲窑) in Fanchang produced very fine white wares during the initial phase. The potters in Fanchang further developed the white wares and subsequently produced the Qingbai wares which are now widely believed to be earlier than that produced in Jingdezhen. Fanchang kilns could also be a contributor of white wares exported during the 5 Dynasties. For example, the below white cover box is similar to one that was recovered from the Intan wreck which also carried mainly Yue and white wares. It should be noted that the early white wares usually show tinge of blue where the glaze pooled. Hence, at times it could be difficult in deciding whether it is Qingbai or white ware.

Chaozhou Bi Jiashan kiln (笔架山窑) in Guangdong has been suggested as another likely site of white wares during the 5 Dynasties period. However, this is so far not substantiated by archaeological excavations of the kilns. The white/qingbai wares from Chaozhou are likely dated later and has a different glaze texture and the paste different. Much research still need to be done to clarify all the sources of the white wares from this wreck.

A perennial presence was a group big Guangdong jars and basins. Since the Tang Dynasty kilns in the pearl river delta in Guangdong were the main producers of such wares. Interestingly, many in this wreck showed a more brownish colour tone as compared with the more greenish version found in for eg. the Belitung wreck of the 9th century. From archaeological survey, kilns in Guangdong shiwan region such as the Qishi kiln (奇石窑) were known to produce big jars characterised by a more brownish green glaze.

The cirebon wreck dating from the transition of 5 Dynasties to Northern Song is a very important wreck. It throws light on the assemblage of porcelains which were exported during that phase of maritime trade. It provides physical evidence of dominent role played by Yue ware and the range of the products available. It also highlighted the complexity of the sources of white ware. Future researches will likely offer currency to the view that kilns in Southern China such as those in Anhui had played an important role in the export of ceramics trade by the 5 Dynasty period. The dominant trend of North White and South green established during the Tang Dynasty was broken. It was a period when there was mutual transfer of ceramics production technology. In North China, Yaozhou emerged as an important greenware production site and in the South important white ware production sites such as those in Anhui emerged. It was in the South that there was further development of the white glaze technology which culminated in the production of Qingbai wares.