Archaeology Magazine - January/February 1987 - 57

Tiger-shaped vessels like this one, reportedly excavated near Nanjing , were
popular from the Han to the Sui
dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D.581). Height ,
20.5 centimeters .

as well as varying raw materials among
the many kiln sites, contributed to the
large diversity of objects covered by the
umbrella term "celadon." These greenglazed wares have a greater variety of
color than any other type of ware, and
connoisseurs of celadon know a color
range from light grays and ocher through
various greens to blue.
An accident during the infancy of
China's recorded history most probably
began the fine glazed traditions that
are now synonymous with our name for
that country. Somewhere in the central
area of China near the Yellow River,

A dedicatory inscription dated A.D. 1327
states that this baluster-shaped vase
is one of a pair made to be placed with
a statue of the Buddha. Height ,
72.2 centimeters.

more than 3,000 years ago in the reign
of China's first historical dynasty, the
Shang, ashes circulating in a kiln possibly landed on top of ceramics that were
being fired. This caused the surfaces to
appear hard and glossy when the ceramics were removed from the kiln.
Until just a couple of decades ago,
accidents were the general explanation
for the occurrence of glazing during the
Shang and the followingdynasty. When,
however, objects were found at Zhengzhou, Henan province, with glaze on the
undersides of surfaces where falling ash
could not have settled- objects that
could be reasonably dated to the fifteenth/fourteenth century b.c.- the accident theory had to be scrapped. The
result is the realization that the science
of glazing is yet another of the monumental technical advancements of the
Shang people, along with their unparalleled ceremonial bronze vessels. For centuries these bronzes have been revered
for their profound aesthetic qualities,
rivaling the finest art ever produced in
any culture. Now, in the Ice and Green
Clouds exhibition, the Shang artisans'
unique achievements in ceramics, a medium that received considerably more attention over the following millennia, are
accorded deserved recognition. This earliest phase of green-glazed ceramics is
exemplified by the handsome, widemouth jar of zun type in the NelsonAtkins Museum of Art, the only known
example outside China. It has a thin
yellowish glaze that covers a typical,
dimpled surface pattern resembling a
rough textile and frequently seen on
the cord-marked vessels to which it is
clearly related. Though kiln sites have
yet to be identified for this nascent period, the fact of the archaeological relics
is undeniable.
After the fall of the Shang dynasty's
northern capital to the Zhou in the mideleventh century B.c., the appearance

of glazed ceramics in the north unaccountably diminishes to apparent extinction, not to reappear for about a
thousand years. In contrast, production
in the southern regions prospered, which
has led to speculation that the objects
found in the north may have been transported there from the south. Yet, as
Mino and Tsiang point out, the wide
geographic distribution of finds of early
Zhou date argues instead for the existence of several centers of manufacture.
In any event, during the Zhou dynasty (eleventh-third century b.c.) the
center of activity for glazed ceramics
became firmly established in the south.
In the southern regions of Anhui and
neighboring Zhejiang provinces, vessels
are found with both dipped and brushed
The lustrous shades of glazes created
in the kilns of Longquan in Zhejiang
province have set the standard of the
celadon color.Height of vase,
27.8 centimeters.

1987 57
Januaiy/Februaiy

Archaeology Magazine - January/February 1987

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - January/February 1987