Chinese Porcelain
Zhangzhou (Swatow) wares 1570-1650
Jarlets
Page 2
Jingdezhen was the production centre of export porcelain, but smaller kilns in southern China competed on Asian markets. A group of factories in the south of Fujian province was particularly active. Their products are referred to by the old name of 'Swatow', which is derived from the harbour from where these wares were allegedly shipped. However, recent archaeological research has proved that in fact they were produced in the Zhangzhou area in a variety of kilns. Thick-bodied porcelain or stoneware dishes, jars, jarlets and covered boxes were made here from around 1570. Bowls, bottles, vases and kendis are more rare.
The output was exported to Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan, but not to Europe, where this type was regarded as too heavy and coarse. The Portuguese – and later the VOC (Dutch East India Company, 1602–1799) – used Swatow as a commodity in their inter-Asian trade. The type is known in underglaze blue, in overglaze enamels and in combinations of the two. The decorations are largely derived from Jiajing and kraak porcelain made for export in Jingdezhen, but the quality of their painting is usually noticeably inferior. Landscapes with birds or deer, for instance, were sometimes drawn so quickly and sketchily that it is difficult to see what exactly is depicted. Dishes and jars often have much kiln grit adhering to their bases and their thick, milky glaze can be heavily crackled. Rather unusual are dishes with an underglaze monochrome brown or blue, decorated in white slib with dots and lines a technique only seen on Swatow wares. Also exclusive to Swatow are dishes decorated in green enamels with Arabic inscriptions that were made for the sultans in Aceh (northern Sumatra). The large jars were used to transport and stored dried fish, pickled vegetables, arak, oil, etc. Small jars contained cosmetic oils or magical fluids, while covered boxes held a paste, an ointment or whatever the owner wanted to keep in it. Swatow was highly regarded in Indonesia and for centuries pieces were cherished as family heirlooms (pusaka porcelain). Almost all Swatow in the Netherlands was collected in the former Dutch Indies and ended up here. The civil wars in China in the mid-17th century interrupted porcelain exports from Jingdezhen, but brought an end to Swatow production.
Zhangzhou (Swatow) wares 1570-1650 - Jarlets - Page 2
Object 201061
Jarlet
(Southeast) China, Zhangzhou (Swatow)
1570-1650
Height 57 mm (2,24 inch), diameter 55 mm (2.17 inch), diameter of rim 20 mm (0.79 inch), diameter of footring 35 mm (1.38 inch), weight 105 grams (3.70 ounce (oz.))
Jarlet on a flat unglazed base with an angled shoulder and a short upright neck. Crackled glaze. Decorated in underglaze blue with four stylized lotus leaves separated by clusters of the character ta (great). Around the shoulder a lotus leaf pattern border.
For similarly decorated jarlets, please see:
- Het Chinese porselein in de collectie Frits Lugt / The Frits Lugt collection of Chinese porcelains, (D.F. Lunsingh Scheurleer in Mededelingenblad Nederlandse Vereniging van Vrienden van de Ceramiek, vols. 103/104, Lochem 1981), p.87, cat. 106.
- Zhangzhou (Swatow) Ceramics. Sixteenth to Seventeenth Centuries Found in Indonesia, (S. Adhyatman, The Ceramic Society of Indonesia, 1999), p.122, cat.150.
Condition: Two very tiny fleabites to the rim.
References:
Lunsingh Scheurleer 1981, cat. 106
Price: € 199 Currency Converter
Zhangzhou (Swatow) wares 1570-1650 - Jarlets - Page 2
Object 2010603
Jarlet
(Southeast) China, Zhangzhou (Swatow)
1570-1650
Height 41 mm (1.61 inch), diameter 61 mm (2.40 inch), diameter of rim 20 mm (0.79 inch), diameter of footring 40 mm (1.57 inch), weight 105 grams (3.60 ounce (oz.))
Jarlet on a flat unglazed base with an angled shoulder and a short upright neck (smoothened). Crackled glaze. Decorated in underglaze blue with two panels filled with a carp leaping out the sea separated by a concentric waves pattern. Around the shoulder a lotus leaf pattern border.
Condition: A smooth unglazed rim.
References:
Lunsingh Scheurleer 1977, cat. 54
Price: € 199 Currency Converter
Zhangzhou (Swatow) wares 1570-1650 - Jarlets - Page 2
Object 201052
Jarlet
(Southeast) China, Zhangzhou (Swatow)
1570-1650
Height 47 mm (1.85 inch), diameter 61 mm (2.40 inch), diameter of rim 20 mm (0.79 inch), diameter of footring 38 mm (1.50 inch), weight 109 grams (3.85 ounce (oz.))
Jarlet on a flat unglazed base with an angled shoulder and a short upright neck. Crackled glaze. Decorated in underglaze blue with two cartouches containing a carp leaping out the sea separated by a scale or concentric waves pattern. Around the shoulder a lotus leaf pattern border. On the base an old paper collectors label that reads: "289".
These jarlets were unearthed in large quantities particularly in Indonesia. This might also explain why the jarlet is filled with lumps of solid earth that are to big to get out of the jarlet. These kind of jarlets were mass-produced over centuries and are very common in Southeast Asia where they, apart from being used as burial objects, were used for medicines, unguents and cosmetics. (Rinaldi 1989, pp.88-91)
Condition: Two tiny glaze frits with a tiny, glued back, glaze piece round the rim, some wear to the glaze.
References:
Lunsingh Scheurleer 1977, cat. 54
Price: € 199 Currency Converter
Zhangzhou (Swatow) wares 1570-1650 - Jarlets - Page 2
Object 2011775
Jarlet
(Southeast) China, Zhangzhou (Swatow)
1570-1650
Height 55 mm (2.17 inch), diameter 53 mm (2.08 inch), diameter of rim 17 mm (0,66 inch), diameter of footring 31 mm (1.22 inch), weight (including mounts) 83 grams (2.93 ounce (oz.))
Jarlet on a flat unglazed base with an angled shoulder and a short upright neck. Crackled glaze. Fitted with unmarked Indonesian silver engraved mounts round the foot and rim. Decorated in underglaze blue with two cartouches containing a flower separated by a scale or concentric waves pattern. Around the shoulder a lotus leaf pattern border.
These jarlets, supposedly made as containers for the export of oil and ointments in small quantities to consumers all over Southeast Asia, were mass-produced over centuries. As empties, they were part of every kitchen. With the passage of time, they became heirlooms and antiquities of small value. (Harrison 1979, p.81)
These jarlets were unearthed in large quantities particularly in Indonesia. These kind of jarlets were mass-produced over centuries and are very common in Southeast Asia where they, apart from being used as burial objects, were used for medicines, unguents and cosmetics. (Rinaldi 1989, pp.88-91)
According to Adhyatman, the smaller jarlets were used in former times as containers of medicine. (Adhyatman 1999, pp.28-29)
This jarlet probably had an Indonesian provenance and was collected by a (former) owner when he or she lived in the Dutch East Indies. The mounts, enhancing the shape, indicate the value such pieces had in local Indonesian communities, where they were often regarded as pusaka, holy and venerated heirlooms. (Jörg 2003/1, p.65)
For similarly decorated jarlets, please see:
- The Ceramic Art of China and other Countries of the Far East, (W.B. Honey, Faber & Faber Limited, London 1944), Plate 147 (e).
- Zhangzhou (Swatow) Ceramics. Sixteenth to Seventeenth Centuries Found in Indonesia, (S. Adhyatman, The Ceramic Society of Indonesia, 1999), p.122, cat.150.
Condition: Perfect.
References:
Harrisson 1979, p.81 & cat. 164
Adhyatman 1999, pp.28-29 & cat. 150
Price: € 149 Currency Converter
Zhangzhou (Swatow) wares 1570-1650 - Jarlets - Page 2
Object 201053
Jarlet
(Southeast) China, Zhangzhou (Swatow)
1570-1650
Height 45 mm (1.77 inch), diameter 53 mm (2.09 inch), diameter of rim 20 mm (0.79 inch), diameter of footring 31 mm (1.22 inch), weight 71 grams (2.50 ounce (oz.))
Jarlet on a flat unglazed base with an angled shoulder and a short upright neck. Crackled glaze. Decorated in underglaze blue with two cartouches containing a flower separated by a scale or concentric waves pattern. Around the shoulder a lotus leaf pattern border. On the base a rectangular paper collectors label that reads: '285 / 40'.
For similarly decorated jarlets, please see:
- The Ceramic Art of China and other Countries of the Far East, (W.B. Honey, Faber & Faber Limited, London 1944), Plate 147 (e).
- Zhangzhou (Swatow) Ceramics. Sixteenth to Seventeenth Centuries Found in Indonesia, (S. Adhyatman, The Ceramic Society of Indonesia, 1999), p.122, cat.150.
Condition: Spots on the body were the glaze did not catch on to the body during the firing process.
References:
Harrisson 1979, pp.82-83, cat. 164.
Adhyatman 1999, p.122, cat. 150.
Price: € 99 Currency Converter
Zhangzhou (Swatow) wares 1570-1650 - Jarlets - Page 2
Object 2010511
Jarlet
(Southeast) China, Zhangzhou (Swatow)
1570-1650
Height 50 mm (1.97 inch), diameter 61 mm (2.40 inch), diameter of rim 19 mm (0.75 inch), diameter of footring 37 mm (1.46 inch), weight 94 grams (3.32 ounce (oz.))
Jarlet on a flat unglazed base with an angled shoulder and a short upright neck. Crackled glaze. Decorated in underglaze blue with two panels filled with a flower separated by a scale or concentric waves pattern. Around the shoulder a lotus leaf pattern border.
For similarly decorated jarlets, please see:
- The Ceramic Art of China and other Countries of the Far East, (W.B. Honey, Faber & Faber Limited, London 1944), Plate 147 (e).
- Zhangzhou (Swatow) Ceramics. Sixteenth to Seventeenth Centuries Found in Indonesia, (S. Adhyatman, The Ceramic Society of Indonesia, 1999), p.122, cat.150.
Condition: Perfect.
References:
Price: € 119 Currency Converter
Zhangzhou (Swatow) wares 1570-1650 - Jarlets - Page 2
Object 201059
Jarlet
(Southeast) China, Zhangzhou (Swatow)
1570-1650
Height 60 mm (2.36 inch), diameter 64 mm (2.52 inch), diameter of rim: 24 mm (0.94 inch), diameter of footring 36 mm (1.42 inch), weight 97 grams (3.42 ounce (oz.))
Jarlet on a flat unglazed base with an angled shoulder and a short upright neck. Crackled glaze. Decorated in underglaze blue with two panels filled with a flower separated by a scale or concentric waves pattern. Around the shoulder a lotus leaf pattern border.
For similarly decorated jarlets, please see:
- The Ceramic Art of China and other Countries of the Far East, (W.B. Honey, Faber & Faber Limited, London 1944), Plate 147 (e).
- Zhangzhou (Swatow) Ceramics. Sixteenth to Seventeenth Centuries Found in Indonesia, (S. Adhyatman, The Ceramic Society of Indonesia, 1999), p.122, cat.150.
Condition: A glaze chip to the rim, the glaze did not catch on to the body during the firing process.
References:
Price: € 99 Currency Converter
Zhangzhou (Swatow) wares 1570-1650 - Jarlets - Page 2
Object 2010207
Jarlet
(Southeast) China, Zhangzhou (Swatow)
1570-1650
Height 53 mm (2.09 inch), diameter 58 mm (2.28 inch), diameter of rim 22 mm (0.87 inch), diameter of footring 33 mm (1.30 inch), weight 84 grams (2.96 ounce (oz.))
Jarlet on a flat unglazed base with an angled shoulder and a short upright neck. Crackled glaze. Decorated in underglaze blue with two cartouches containing a flower separated by a scale or concentric waves pattern. Around the shoulder a lotus leaf pattern border.
For similarly decorated jarlets, please see:
- The Ceramic Art of China and other Countries of the Far East, (W.B. Honey, Faber & Faber Limited, London 1944), Plate 147 (e).
- Zhangzhou (Swatow) Ceramics. Sixteenth to Seventeenth Centuries Found in Indonesia, (S. Adhyatman, The Ceramic Society of Indonesia, 1999), p.122, cat.150.
Condition: Two tiny glaze frits to the rim.
References:
Price: € 99 Currency Converter
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