Tang/5 Dynasties Mise Yue ware 

The term Mise Yue ware was probably coined around mid or slightly later 9th century to describe a category of  top quality Yue wares.   Tang poet 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 translation by Bushell of the poem:

"The misty scenery of late autumn appears when the Yue kilns are open, 

The thousand peaks have been despoiled of their bright colour for the decoration of the bowls.

Let us take them out at midnight to collect the falling dew,

Or fill up the cups with wine in emulation of Ji Zhong San (Ji Zhong San is referring to Ji Kang, one of the 7 saints of Bamboo groves)"

Another much quoted description of mise was the celebrated verses composed by Xu Yin on his perception of the colour of mise tea bowls.  Bushell's translation as follows:

"Like bright moons cunningly carved and dyed with spring water;

Like curling disks of thinnest ice, filled with green clouds;

Like ancient moss-eaten bronze mirrors lying upon the mat;

Like tender lotus leaves full of dewdrops floating on the river-side."

What we could only gather are the metaphors used by Tang poets to describe the greenish colour of mise wares. It is difficult to understand how it differs from the normal Yue ware.  Hence, the term mise has for a long time been a subject of much discussion and speculation by Chinese ceramics scholars.  The first concrete evidence of the existence of mise ware finally appeared in 1987.   A lot of 14 secret colour porcelains were found in the underground foundation chamber of Famen Pagoda, Fufeng prefecture, Shanxi Province.    According to a stone tablet listing the inventory of items in the underground chamber, there were seven mise (secret colour) porcelain bowls including two with silver-binded rim/gold gilded bird decoration (鎏金银棱平脱雀鸟团花纹) and six mise dishes.  The inscription specifically indicates that these were the mise porcelains of the Tang dynasty.  The 8-sided purification vase is actually not mentioned in the inventory.

Famen Pagoda

Mise wares  from the Famen Pagoda

Rubbings from the stone tablet, record of mise wares highlighted in red

Most of the bowls and dishes have a 5-petal rim.  This is formed by partitioning the interior wall with ribbed lines extending down from the groove on the rim. The form is elegant and resembles a lotus flower.  These mise porcelains were covered with an even and translucent glaze which is green like lake water, greyish green or yellowish green.

Mise bowl and dish from Famen Pagoda

Mise bowl with a silver binded rim and gold gilded bird decoration

Mise 8 sided Vase from Famen Pagoda

The mise bowls and dishes were wrapped with paper and some remnants with imprint of a lady could be seen some of the items.

Example with remnant traces of paper and imprint of a lady

Mise or Secret Colour porcelains were first produced for the Tang court during the late Tang period.  This dating is substantiated by the 2016/2017 excavation of the Hou Si Ao kiln in Shanglin lake.  More on the Hou Si Ao kiln excavation and findings will be discussed later.

During the 5 Dynasties period, Zhejiang came under the jurisdiction of the Wuyue Kingdom.  Under Wuyue, the Yue kilns produced large amount of mise porcelains and they were sent as tribute to the Northern powerful states and subsequently to the Northern Song court .  One famous piece of mise ware is a dragon Jar from the tomb of Qian Yuanguan of late 5 Dynasties.  It has a dish mouth, tall neck and a globular belly decoration with two dragons chasing a pearl-carved in relief.  When unearthed, remnants of gold fill remained on the dragon body. 

Mise dragon jar from the tomb of Qian Yuan Guan

Another well-known piece is an incense burner from the tomb of Shiu Qiu, mother of Qian Liu.  It is tall and big, comprising 3 sections - cover, burner and stand. The cover is perforated to allow incense to pass through.  The whole piece was decorated with design in iron brown glaze.  Also found in her tomb was a jar with brown glaze decoration.

Mise wares with iron-brown decoration from the tomb of Shui Qiu

Many of the mise porcelains of the 5 Dynasties/early Northern Song were decorated with carved or incised dragon, pheonix  , cranes, flowers,  butterflies, animals, humans, animals, lotus petals and cloud.

Example of Mise dish with incised twin butterflies from the tomb of a Liao nobility

5 Dynasties mise cover with incised floral decoration

Northern Song Mise ware from tomb of an empress

Restored 5 Dynasties Mise ewer from Hou Si Ao site

In Oct 2016/Jan 2017, a project was jointly carried out by several Zhejiang archaeological units to excavate the Hou Si Ao kiln site (后司岙窑址) in Shanglin lake.  It has been established that it is the most important central mise porcelain production location.  The kiln site and the surrounding workshop covering an area of about 1100 sq meters were uncovered and numerous mise shards were collected from heaps of kiln rejects over 5m in depth.

Hou Si Ao kiln site and the kiln rejects

Hou Si Ao kiln commenced production during the late Tang period and ceased production by end of 5 Dynasties.  Among the kiln furnitures, there were some with 大中 (Da Zhong [846 - 859 A.D])， 咸通 (Xian Tong [860 - 874 A.D]) and  中和 (zhong He [881 - 885 A.D]) reign mark.  From this, it can be established that at least by Da Zhong period, the production of mise porcelains commenced.  From Xian Tong period the quantity of mise procelain increasd in proportion  and reached its peak in Zong He period.  It continued to be produced during the 5 Dynasties period but the quality deteriorated by the mid 5 Dynasties period.

There is quite a wide range of mise products, with bowl, plate, bo-shape bowl and cover box forming the bulk of production.  Other vessels included ewer, vase, jar, dish, incense burner, pillow, cup stand and etc.  For each type of vessel, there are several different design. Take the case of bowl for example, you have those with high foot and floral-shape mouth and others with yi-bi or ring shaped foot. The paste of the vessel is fine grained and the glaze is relatively thick and even with icy jade like appearnace.  Mise porcelain is characterised by its elegant form and fine glaze.  Majority of the Tang vessels are plain without decoration as it would distract and diminish the overall aesthetic appeal of the object.

Flat shape vase with 4 lugs

Pillow and porcelaneous support with marks of clay lumps used as separator during firing

Bowl and disc shape porcelaneous support

Floral shaped plate

8 sided vase similar to that found in the the Famen temple.  So far, Hou Si Ao kiln is the only site known to produce such vessel

Tang Mise dishes from Hou Si Ao site

Two restored Tang Mise vessels from Hou Si Ao site

Chinese archaeologists noticed that the saggar used for mise yue wares is different from the normal saggar.  The material used is the same porcelaineous material for the ware itself.  Furthermore, the gap between the saggar and cover was fully sealed with glaze.  Besides providing good protection, it also resulted in excellent reduction firing.  Hence, the glaze could achieve a good greenish hue.  This method of firing is very costly as the saggar has to be broken to retrieve the vessel after firing.  Therefore, the saggar can only be used once.  This type of saggar first appeared during the Da Zong period but constituted a small proportion as compared with the coarse saggar for the normal Yue ware. By the Zong He period, the use of porcelaineous saggars became predominant till mid 5 Dynasties.  After which, the quality of the saggar dropped as reflected in the more coarse grain.  There is clear co-relation between the quality of saggar and the final product that it housed.   Hence, mise porcelains of the later period pale in comparision. 

Mise fragments and Saggars

Many of the saggars are incised with surname, auspicious wording, date, "官“ i.e. Guan character and etc.  In 1977, a tomb stone in the form of a porcelain jar was unearthed at Shanglin Lake. On the jar was an inscription which stated that on the 5th year of Tang Zhonghe reign (885 A.D.), the deceased passed away and in 887 this person was buried in the Northern Hill of the tribute kiln.  The appearance of "官“ characters on many of the saggars is an indication of the tributary nature of the Hou Si Ao kiln.

Jar with the inscription which stated that on the 5th year of Tang Zhonghe reign (885 A.D.), the deceased passed away and in 887 this person was buried in the Northern Hill of the tribute kiln.

Saggar fragment with "官” character

Jar with guan character from Qian clan tomb

The excavation of Hou Si Ao kiln is a very important event for the study of Mise Yue ware.  Besides clarifying the production stages and the technological aspects, it yields a substantial pool of physical mise artefacts.   Currently, Yue ware with fine workmanship and very good quality glaze texture and colour are widely classified as mise.  Undoubtedly there is some subjectivity involved when deciding whether a piece of Yue ware is mise . The voluminous quanity of Mise samples from the Hou Si Ao kiln are useful for more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the characteristics of Mise wares.  They can also serve as the yardstick to determine whether a Yue piece qualifies as mise grade.
 

For more information on the excavation of Hou Si Ao kiln, please refer to below articles:

http://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1657479

http://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1657185

The below documentary also provided a glimpse of the survey and excavation of Hou Si Ao kiln site:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?sns=fb&v=6DY7LYnUUD8&app=desktop

Written by:  NK Koh (30 Nov 2017)