Beyond Firing: the Chaîne Opératoire of Chinese Heirloom Ge Ware
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Beyond Firing: The Chaîne Opératoire of Chinese Heirloom Ge Ware Z L1 U O: I A 1 [email protected] : Heirloom Ge Ware (哥窑, pinyin: gē yáo) refers to a type of green or yellow ware with a network of two diff erent-coloured cracks (black and brown) in the glaze. Heirloom Ge Ware is known as one of the fi ve greatest ceramic types of the Song dynasty (AD 960-1270). However, the earliest mention of Ge Ware in historical documents is in the Yuan dynasty (AD 1271-1368). Additionally, the original production locale of Heirloom Ge Ware is still unknown and it is debated whether it actually dates to the Song dynasty. This study applies the chaîne opératoire to analyse the production chain of Heirloom Ge Ware to answer why it might have been produced. By applying an ethnographic method investigating modern imitations, a unique production technology called ‘crack-colouring’ was discovered that is used to produce Heirloom Ge Ware. This technology shows that Heirloom Ge Ware was produced to imitate the style of Guan Ware (made at the royal kiln of the Song dynasty) that had been aff ected by taphonomic processes in the soil. Therefore it may not have been produced during the Song dynasty but in the Yuan dynasty. The notion that Heirloom Ge Ware belongs to the Song dynasty therefore needs to be reconsidered. In the 1930s, the Palace Museum (Beijing) found a collection of porcelain which had no accompanying documentation. It was mainly a greenish-blue and cream- coloured glazed ware with black and yellow cracks criss-crossing the surface of the glaze (fi g. 1). Geng (1995: 56) described this kind of pattern as “golden thread and iron wire”. Poems were carved on the bottom of 21 diff erent items of this type of porcelain. According to Han Qian (2017), these poems mainly describe the production skills and characteristics of Ge Ware, and the poems were written by Qianlong,1 the sixth emperor of the Qing dynasty (AD 1636-1912). Based on the description of these poems Guo Bochang, the fi rst director of the Ceramic Research Department of the Palace Museum in 1932, named them ‘Heirloom Ge Ware’ (Zhou and Zhou 2012)2. The major challenge when researching Heirloom Ge Ware is to distinguish between this pottery and Guan Ware because these two types of glazed ceramics are very similar in appearance (Scott 1993). As shown in Figure 2, the colour of glaze, density of cracks and shape style for both Guan and Ge Ware are very sim- ilar. They diff er in that the cracks of Ge Ware are generally black in colour whilst Guan Ware has brown cracks. Furthermore, Ge Ware has some cream-coloured glazed items. In contrast, all the Guan Ware glazes are greenish-blue or celadon in colour. Hence, Duan et al. (2010) point out that Guan Ware and Ge Ware might have shared a connection in the past because two diff erent fi ring atmospheres, oxidising and reducing, will form diff erent glaze colours when the ferrum con- tent of glaze formula is the same (oxidising forms cream colour; reducing forms greenish-blue colour). 1 : Qianlong (qián long: 乾隆, 1711-1799) emperor was a collector of Ge Ware. 2: There are two different Ge Ware types: Heirloom Ge Ware and Longquan Ge Ware, which have very different characteristics. This paper only discusses the chaîne opératoire of Heirloom Ge Ware. Figure 1: Kwai-shaped plate of Heirloom Ge ware; a poem is carved on the bottom. The content of the poem is to illustrate that the “characteristic of Ge ware is thousands of cracks” (images courtesy of the Palace Museum, Beijing: 2017). The main debate about the chronology of Heirloom Ge Ware is whether it was produced in the Song or Yuan dynasty. According to Wang (2012), the Song and Yuan dynasty had diff erent social and political systems. Analysing the entire manufacturing chain of Heirloom Ge Ware may reveal its production purpose. This may then provide information to clarify the chronology and provenance of Heirloom Ge Ware. Blakeslee (2012) highlights that the chaîne opératoire is often used in analysing prehistoric stone tools or pottery. The traditional, simplifi ed manufacturing sequence of pottery consists of collecting clay, shaping, dec- orating and fi ring. However, when applying this particular method to later ceramic prod- ucts, especially glazed ceram- ics such as Heirloom Ge Ware, the additional step of glaze forming must be included. Ceramic glaze is an impervious layer or coating of a vitreous substance that has been fused to a ceramic body through fi ring (Wood 2011) and can serve to colour, decorate or waterproof an item. Tite et Figure 2: (a) Guan ware, the British Museum (London); (b) Heir- al. (2012) argue that glazing loom Ge ware, the Palace Museum (Beijing) (images courtesy of renders earthenware vessels the British Museum and the Palace Museum). suitable for holding liquids, sealing the inherent porosity of unglazed biscuit earthenware, in addition to giving a tougher surface. As Wood (2000: 31) states, in addition to their functionality, glazes can form a variety of surface fi nishes, including degrees of glossy or matte fi nish and colour. Glazes may also enhance the underlying design or texture, whether unmodifi ed or inscribed, carved or painted. Additionally, Dobres (2000) observes that some social phenomena can be revealed through analysing the production technology of a particular type of object. Specifi c unique manufacturing technologies and specifi c steps of a ceramic chaîne can help identify underlying cultural identities (Ard 2013). Hence, reconstructing the chaîne opératoire of Heirloom Ge Ware may give insights into specifi c production technologies, and these technologies would have been created for some particular purpose, which can provide more information about their origin. To avoid the subjectivity that could arise from a chaîne opératoire approach,3 this paper suggests that combining the chaîne opératoire with modern scientifi c analysis ensures the objectivity of chaîne opératoire research. Analysing the chemical composition of the clay and the glaze can provide useful information to help to identify the clay resource choices, fi ring atmosphere and possible glaze type of Heirloom Ge Ware. To better observe the modern imitation of Ge Ware, this study applies an ethno- archaeological approach featuring an interview with a famous imitation ceramic studio made possible through a personal contact. This studio was established by Ye Kewei in Yunhe County in Zhejiang Province. It mainly researches the production steps of Heirloom Ge Ware by creating imitations. Given competitive business factors, Ye’s studio does not want to share their glaze formula. However, they agreed to share the whole production chain of the modern imitation method. Selecting raw material is usually regarded as the fi rst step of the manufacturing chain for ceramic production. As Table 1 shows, the chemical data of the clay indicates a relatively high iron content. Yan et al. (2015) argue that this iron is the main element forming the distinctive black clay body. It seems likely there- fore that the provenance of the clay for Ge Ware is located in a region with clays that have a relatively high iron content. In modern production of Heirloom Ge Ware iron is added to the clay mixture in order to colour the fi red-clay body to the desired black colour. The clay utilised in the past was much richer and the limitations of suitable, comparative clay resources have been a challenge for modern ceramicists. Furthermore, Li et al. (2009) state that potters working in Jingdezhen, Longquan and other famous porcelain producing areas have to add diff erent chemical additives to produce the desired clay.4 3: Monnier and Missal (2014) argue that the chaîne opératoire is a subjective approach because it relies on the intuition and thinking of researchers, which will infl uence the analysis result. 4: Suitable clay is porcelain stone and kaolinite, both of which derive from weathered granite. The more weathered, the fi ner the clay. Li et al. (2009) point out that in the past the clay was of very high quality. Now, ceramicists have to use modern technology to produce ceramic clay of equal quality. Table 1: The chemical elements data of clay of Longquan Ge ware and Chuanshi Ge ware (Heirloom Ge ware) (modifi ed from Table 2 of Zhou and Zhang 1964). Ye (2018) states that to ensure the clay body is black after fi ring, modern craftsmen will open the door of a gas kiln, thereby letting oxygen enter the kiln after fi ring the glaze. This is done to stop a reducing atmosphere forming in the kiln because fi ring this kind of clay in a reduced atmosphere might change the colour of clay from black to dark grey. For the shaping of the Table 2: The modern imitation glaze formula (data from Lahill et al. 2015). vessels, Ye (2018) argues that wheel coiling and modelling5 are the two main methods for mak- ing the rough-out of Ge Ware. As mentioned above, the shape of Ge Ware mainly imitated the style of traditional Chinese bronze ritual vessels. For complex and small shapes such as Zun and Gui,6 Ye and his team use the moulding method to form the shape, whilst other simple and large shapes, such as plates or vases, will be formed by coiling. As Kerr and Wood (2004) state, the coiling technique had been used since 2500 BC and is still practised today. Ceramicists, both in the Song and Yuan dynasties, also applied this approach to shape the clay for Heirloom Ge Ware.