Review 23-4-2014 December
Review 23-4-2014 December
Review 23-4-2014 December
4 D e c em b e r 2 0 1 4
the journal of
the asian arts society
of australia
TAASA Review
CONTENTS
Volume 23 No. 4 December 2014
3 ED ITOR IAL
TA A S A RE V I E W
Josefa Green
Jackie Menzies
EUR OP EAN D ECO R ATIO N O N EAR LY EIGH TEENTH CENTURY ORI E N TA L PORC E L A I N
James MacKean
10
Daniel McOwan
13
15
Georgina Hooper
18
John Millbank
20
Pamela Bell
21
Robyn Butlin
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26
Silvia Xavier
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R EC EN T TAAS A ACTIVITIES
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performing arts. All articles are refereed. Additional copies and
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EDITORIAL
G i ll Gr een Pr esident
TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 4
Pair of dishes, China, Tianqi, 1621-27, porcelain with underglaze blue decoration, each 3.2 x 15.2 cm, AGNSW. Purchased 1980. Photo: AGNSW/Jenni Carter
TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 4
Kraak ware bowl, China, Ming, c1600-1625, porcelain with underglaze blue decoration, 9.5 x 14.2 cm, AGNSW.
Photo: AGNSW/Joy Lai
TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 4
E U R O P E A N D E C O R AT I O N O N E A R LY E I G H T E E N T H C E N T U R Y O R I E N TA L P O R C E L A I N
James MacKean
Bowl with phoenix and seated monkey, China c.1690 - 1710, porcelain with underglaze blue,
overglaze enamel added in Holland c.1710 - 1730. Private collection
TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 4
Private collection.
Bowl, China c.1690 - 1710, porcelain with underglaze blue and overglaze enamel
decoration of phoenix, 'clobbered' with a further overglaze enamel decoration
The second group can truly be termed overdecorated where the European enamelling
was added partly or wholly on top of the
existing Chinese design, sometimes taking no
notice of the original patterns or colours. This
was often rather crudely done, at least to the
modern eye, leading to the term clobbered
in common use by dealers and collectors of
these wares.
The bowl shown here has been well and truly
clobbered by the imposition of a pattern of
panels with figures and birds, the phoenix
ignominiously ignored to the extent that a
parrot is perched among her streaming tail
feathers. On the inside the bowl is painted
with baskets of flowers.
TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 4
Square sake bottle, Arita ware, Japan c.1680 - 1700, white undecorated ware,
decorated in overglaze enamel in Holland c.1725 - 30. Private collection
TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 4
KA K I E M O N: O N LY A N E X P O R T P O R C E L A I N ?
Daniel McOwan
Dish, Kakiemon ware 1680-1700, Porcelain with on-glaze and under-glaze decoration,
h. 2.7 cm, 20.1 cm, Valerie Sheldon Bequest, Collection Hamilton Art Gallery, Photo Patricia Begg
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TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 4
h. 2.8 cm, 18.6 cm , Donated through the Australian Governments Cultural Gifts
h. 3.4 cm, 21.7 cm, Valerie Sheldon Bequest, Collection Hamilton Art Gallery,
TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 4
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Set of five Bowls, Kakiemon ware 1680-90, Moulded nigoshide porcelain with on-glaze decoration, h. 4.5 cm, 13.0 cm,
Private collections, Hamilton Art Gallery, Trust acquisition Geoff and Helen Handbury Gift, Photo Patricia Begg
Dish Filial Piety series c. 1770, Moulded porcelain with under-glaze decoration, h. 4.7 cm, 30 cm,
Purchased with annual Council allocation, Collection Hamilton Art Gallery, Photo Patricia Begg
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TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 4
The 4th Festival of Tibet, Brisbane Powerhouse 2012. Photo: Carolyn Christensen
TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 4
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Momo being made for the Himalayan Film Festival, BEMAC, Brisbane. Photo: Tenzin Choegyal
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The seventh Festival of Tibet runs from 1925January 2015 at BrisbanePowerhouse. Tenzin
Choegyal is currently working on a new album
which he hopes to finish by the end of 2014.
Tarun Nagesh is Associate Curator, Asian Art,
Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art.
TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 4
TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 4
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TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 4
Floating Exchange installation in Itadakimasu exhibition, 2014, bamboo, ceramic and silk thread. Photo courtesy Georgina Hooper
TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 4
REFERENCES
Jingdezhen.2014. Encyclopdia Britannica Online. Retrieved
19 October 2014 from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/
topic/112982/Jingdezhen
Gerritsen, A. 2009. Fragments of a Global Past: Ceramics
Manufacture in Song-Yuan-Ming Jingdezhen, Journal of the
Economic and Social History of the Orient vol. 52, pp. 117-152.
Li, S. & Li, X. 2011. The Role of Cultural Creative Industry in the
Process of the City Development: The case of Jingdezhen, Studies
in Sociology of Science, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 74-78.
Songjie, L., Shujing, W. & Xinghua, L. 2012. The Development of
Jingdezhen in the View of Cultural Innovation, Studies in Sociology
of Science, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 45-49.
17
T H E R O L E O F S R I V I J AYA I N E A R LY I N T E R N AT I O N A L T R A D E :
2014 ST LEE LECTURE BY PROFESSOR QIN DASHU
John Millbank
CHANGSHA PLATES FROM THE BELITUNG WRECK C. 826CE. PHOTO COURTESY PROF. QIN DASHU
Those who, like me, started collecting preMing Chinese ceramics in Australia 20 or
more years ago, will remember finding fairly
numerous Chinese qingbai, celadon and blueand-white bowls, boxes and jars. Commonly
these examples came here not directly from
China but from Southeast Asian countries,
Indonesia, Malaysia or the Philippines.
Professor Qins lecture outlined the result of
recent research on the extensive early trading
networks which brought Chinese goods to
these countries and far beyond.
From modest beginnings in the mid-8th
century, Asian maritime trade in ceramics
developed rapidly in the second half of
the 9th century as manufacturers in China
identified markets overseas and began to
cater to their preferences. These exports
were in large quantities: the 9th century
wreck found off Belitung in the Java Sea,
carried some 50,000 ceramic pieces. The 10th
century wreck off Cirebon, also in the Java
Sea, carried 500,000 ceramic pieces as well
as other cargo. By this time Chinese export
commodities, mostly comprising silks and
ceramics, were being traded throughout
Southeast Asia, by way of Sri Lanka and
the Malabar coast of India to the Persian
Gulf, and across the Indian Ocean as far as
East Africa.
Southern and western bound cargoes from
these and other coastal ports in China did
not necessarily go directly to all destinations,
but usually went first to one of a number of
entrepts in Southeast Asia for reloading
on to other ships bound elsewhere. Perhaps
the most important entrept in the 9th and
10th centuries was Palembang, capital of the
Buddhist kingdom of Sri Vijaya on the island
of Sumatra.
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TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 4
FOOT OF YUE WARE BOWL FROM CIREBON WRECK INSCRIBED WITH YEAR MARK,
10TH CENTURY. PHOTO COURTESY PROF QIN DASHU
TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 4
YUE WARE SPHERICAL JARS IN NETTING FROM CIREBON WRECK. PHOTO COURTESY PROF QIN DASHU
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I N T H E P U B L I C D O M A I N : OTA G A K I R E N G E T S U AT T H E N E W C A S T L E A R T G A L L E R Y
Pamela Bell
Sake cup, 1833, Otagaki Rengetsu, earthenware with clear glaze, h. 3.3cm, d. 6.5cm.
Gift of Maryanne Voyazis and Ron Ramsey in memory of Ann Lewis AO 2011.
Newcastle Art Gallery collection
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REFERENCES
A Japanese Aesthetic: Keith Clouton & Jim Deas Ceramic Collection.
A gift to Newcastle, 2013. Newcastle Art Gallery
Eastburn M., Folan L., Maxwell R. (Eds.). 2007. Black robe, white
mist: Art of the Japanese Buddhist nun Rengetsu, National Gallery
of Australia, Canberra ,
Japanese Ceramics in the Newcastle Region Art Gallery, 1996.
Newcastle Art Gallery
TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 4
TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 3
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Covering a few of our possibly less well known collections of Asian art and cultural artefacts throughout Australia.
AT H E R TO N C H I N ATO W N, Q U E E N S L A N D H O U WA N G T E M P L E
A century ago there were over 100 similar temples in Australia
but nowadays, the Hou Wang temple is the only remaining intact
regional temple of its kind.
Gold attracted thousands of Chinese to North Queensland in the
late 1800s. As the gold dwindled and racist sentiments increased,
the Chinese were forced to find work in other areas - in timber and
firewood cutting and then farming maize - on leased land. A small
but thriving township sprang up, complete with stores, herbalists,
bakeries, laundries, and boarding houses.The Returned Soldier
Settlement Scheme at the end of WW1 resulted in the eviction of
Chinese Australians from their farming leases. By the late 1920s
Chinatown was almost deserted.
The Hou Wang Temple, built of local timber and corrugated iron
just before 1903, was the social and religious heart of Athertons
Chinese community and is nowadays the only remaining structure
of the original town. Most of the fittings for the temple, including the
elaborate carvings, bell and metal vessels were made in Guangdong
Province in China. Members from the community contributed
money to pay for the construction of the temple and their names are
recorded on inscriptions on the artefacts. The temple was donated
to the National Trust of Queensland by the Fong On family in 1979.
Conservation of the temple buildings was completed in 2002.
Gordon Grimwade
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The new Dai Gum San forecourt links the Golden Dragon Museum
with the Yi Yuan Gardens and Guan Yin Temple. Spanning the
historic Bendigo creek this new development glitters with golden
pavers and colourful Chinese symbolism. The gardens are a place
of peace and beauty and the Guan Yin Temple, a suitable home for
the goddess of compassion. Visit the website for guided group tour
information, school workshops and activities, and cultural festival
and event dates.
Anita Jack, General Manager, Bendigo Golden Dragon Museum
TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 4
H A M I LTO N A R T G A L L E RY
represents nearly every type of Chinese ceramic from archaic times
onwards. Some highlights are a Song Dynasty Longquan lidded
jar, Cizhou and Jian ware pieces, a large Yuan Dynasty Cizhou
jar, Qingbai wares representing domestic and burial ceramics and
a selection of Ming five-colour wares. The selection is completed
with Qing imperial and non-imperial wares. The Gallery also hasa
small collection of Peking glass, hardstone carvings anda few
pieces in ivory.
TEA BOWL Kohiki type c.2008, Tsujimura Shiro, Japan (b.1947), Stoneware, Nara, Japan,
Purchased with annual Council allocation, Hamilton Art Gallery
The Japanese collection has been formed over the last six years
or so and contains a small group of pre-Edo period ceramics,
Edo period porcelainsincluding a group of important Kakiemon
wares and Meiji period ceramics and metalwork. There is also an
extensive collection of modern Japanese ceramics dating from the
early 20th century to contemporary times. Many of these pieces are
not on display but if visitors are seeking specific artists I refer them
to the Gallerys website where there is a search function under the
collections section that enableslisting, sometimes with images, of
what the Gallery holds. If you wish to see specific pieces please
email us prior to your arrival.
Daniel McOwan, Director, Hamilton Art Gallery
TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 4
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University of Sydney
sydney.edu.au/museums/collections/nicholson
Launcestons Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery holds a large and culturally important
collection of artefacts relating to Chinese temples (known to Europeans in the past as Joss
Houses) from Tasmanias north-east. During the 1880s this area was a hub of tin mining, and
attracted a large Chinese population. This population gradually declined and many smaller
towns were abandoned. As the temples closed, key items from each were brought together,
eventually ending up in the Weldborough temple. When it closed in 1934, the custodian
transferred custody to the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery. The museums Guan Di
Temple is still a functional place of worship, and contains items from six temples.
The original temples were small wooden buildings with tin roofs. They always had a verandah
at the front to act as a portico, and were aligned north-south. Many items in the temple are rare
and significant. They include incense pots, incense burners, a large carved gilt altarpiece, three
wall-hung floats depicting golden palaces, parasols and hanging banners, a large collection of
inscribed carved plaques, and two sets of papier- mch and silk opera figurines. Although
most items were imported from makers in Guangdong Province in China, some pieces
represent local construction, including gongs with frames made from bicycle wheel rims, and
a rocking horse representing the mount of the temples main deity, Guan Di.
Jon Addison, Curator, History, Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery
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TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 4
The Nat Yuen Collection of Chinese Antiquities comprises over 80 objects donated to The
University of Queensland since 1994 by Dr Nat Yuen. A resident of Hong Kong, Dr Yuen has
collected Chinese antiquities for over 25 years. His gifts to the University span 5,000 years
of Chinese culture, with pieces ranging from the Neolithic period to late Qing dynasty. The
collection provides a rich resource for students and scholars of Chinese antiquities, and the
general community. In 2010 Dr Yuen received the UQ International Alumnus of the Year
Award.
The Nat Yuen Collection demonstrates special features of particular periods, such as form,
patterns, clay types and glazes. It includes Neolithic earthenware ceramics, bronze ritual
wares, a lively Tang horse and groom, a range of Song and Yuan ceramics and fine examples
of underglaze blue and white porcelains. A group of blue and white ware from the Collection
is presently on view at the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane.
Blue and white 'Grape Dish', Ming Dynasty, Yongle
period 14031424, blue and white glazed porcelain
diam. 37.8 cm, Collection of The University of
Queensland. Gift of Dr Nat Yuen through the
Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program,
View the entire Collection online and access The Nat Yuen Collection of Chinese Antiquities
Learning Resource at http://www.artmuseum.uq.edu.au/nat-yuen-collection. Displays
from the Collection are rotated regularly on Level 1, UQ Art Museum, James and Mary
Emelia Mayne Centre, The University of Queensland. Enquiries about current display:
[email protected] or 07 3365 3046.
W O L L O N G O N G A R T G A L L E R Y - M A N N -TA T L O W C O L L E C T I O N O F A S I A N A R T
at Wollongong Art Gallery celebrates one such person and his
generosity. William S. Tatlow is an ardent collector with a range
of interests which includes Asian art, ceramics and furniture,
an interest nurtured over a period of 25 years with the help and
assistance of his good friend Mr Singh Mann.
As a private collector his collection was never intended to cover
all periods in Chinese history, never aimed to be comprehensive,
rather it reflects his personal tastes, values and interests. For Mr
Tatlow each piece has its own special story to tell whether through
its distinctive shape, techniques of construction or decoration.
Each individual object, be it Neolithic earthenware, fine decorated
porcelain, intricately carved ivory or beautifully finished furniture,
has not only the story of the artist who created it trapped inside,
but the memories of people and places which were fondly travelled
by Mr Singh Mann and Mr Tatlow as they enjoyed the thrill of
collecting treasures.
SATSUMA WARE COVERED KORO, MEIJI PERIOD (1868 - 1912), JAPAN, PORCELAIN WITH OVER GLAZED
ENAMEL & GOLD, 12 X 12 CM., WOLLONGONG ART GALLERY. PHOTO: BERNIE FISCHER
TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 4
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B O O K R E V I E W: A S I A T H R O U G H A R T A N D A N T H R O P O LO GY
Silvia Xavier
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TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 4
TAASA IN VICTORIA
Visit to See Yup Temple
31 August 2014
TAASA members and guests enjoyed a guided
tour of the little known See Yup Temple in
South Melbourne, colloquially known as the
Joss House. The temple is the oldest Buddhist
temple in continuous use in Australia, being
built in 1856 for the Chinese people who
came to Australia from See Yup (four districts
in Southern China) to work on the Victorian
gold fields.
See Yup immigrants traditional eclectic beliefs
incorporated Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism,
deity-worship and ancestor-veneration. The
temple was built as a meeting place but also
includes two altars for worship, and three
memorial halls. The memorial halls hold more
than 13,000 tablets in commemoration of
members who died and were buried in Victoria
between 1850 to the present day. The highVictorian architecture is infused with many
traditional Chinese elements and the space
is embellished with exquisite hand-carved
artefacts from Guangzhou. We were able to view
several areas not usually open to the public.
TAASA in QUEENSLAND
Artist Talk Vipoo Srivilasa
6 September 2014
Thai born and Melbourne based Ceramic
Sculptor Vipoo Srivilasa spoke engagingly to
TAASA members about his artistic practice at a
show of new works at Edwina Corlette Gallery.
Vipoos latest creations in blue and white
porcelain were cross-species: animals that
are so cute you dont know how bad they are
rabbits, feral cats invaders, thus setting up
double-edged analogies with foreign arrivals,
the European appropriation of the Australian
continent and his continuing investigation of
the fluidity of borders between East and West.
TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 4
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T S G 2 0 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y C E L E B R AT I O N 2 8 O C TO B E R 2 0 1 4
Oh, what a night! Textile Study Group
members, along with other TAASA
members & guests, 85 in all, celebrated
this milestone event with gusto at
Nilgiris Indian restaurant. In typical TSG
fashion, people arrived dressed in their
colourful Indian finery. It was a wonderful
opportunity to connect with friends, and
to acknowledge what has been a very
successful study group over two decades.
Organising committee members Helen Perry & Soraya Raju with TSG members
TSG party
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TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 4
TA A S A H A S A FAC E B O O K PAG E !
As part of our planned update of TAASAs website, we now have a facebook page.
Please check it out at www.facebook.com/taasa.org. You can do this even without
joining facebook.
TAASA is keen to increase its online presence over time. We hope you will use this
space to share your interest and enthusiasm for the Asian arts, and to find up to date
information about TAASA and other Asian arts events.
TAASA member Alex Lucas created our facebook page and has very kindly volunteered
to be our ongoing facebook page manager, so if you have any interesting information
about Asian related events, please contact her at: [email protected]. TAASAs
policy is to promote only events run by not for profit organisations on its site.
We would encourage you to like our facebook page - and start the conversation!
TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 4
W H A T S O N : D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 4 F E BR U A R Y 2 0 1 5
A SELECTIVE ROUNDUP OF EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS
Compiled by Tina Burge
NSW
30
Bonhams, Sydney
6 December 2014 at 2pm
TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 4
TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 4
FRANCE
Splendor of the Han
Rise of the Celestial Empire
Musee Guimet, Paris
22 October 2014 - 1 March 2015
THAILAND
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