Chapter 1344: Elephant Head and Fang Zujun Holding
From a large pile of plates, Chen Wenzhe selected some of the best-preserved ones that were not contaminated by organisms, laid them out, and carefully observed the patterns on them.
This Ming blue and white white peony pattern dish depicts patterns of flowers and birds.
This peony pattern dish depicts peonies very brightly, and you can still see the flowers surrounded by green leaves.
This kind of decoration is complex and full, yet has a sense of order, and even uses a blank painting method.
The inner edge is painted with a blue and white geometric floral pattern for a week, the outer edge is painted with a blue and white polyline chord pattern for a week, and the chord pattern is decorated with two corresponding leaf vein patterns.
The fetus is delicate and white in color.
Peony is the king of flowers and is also known as the flower of wealth. It means prosperity and represents people's wishes for a better life.
There are many fine porcelains like this, but there are only a few types of porcelain decorations.
In addition to animal patterns and patterns, the rest must be bird patterns.
The most common bowls and dishes are those with flower and bird patterns, such as the Ming and Qing blue and white flower and bird pattern bowls with folded edges.
This porcelain bowl has a diameter of 21.2cm and a height of 6.5cm.
There are porcelains with flower and bird patterns, and there is certainly no shortage of porcelain with flower and bird patterns.
It looks like a bright blue and white lotus pond with mandarin duck pattern Clark plate, with eight diamond-shaped blue and white brocade in the center of the plate consecrated.
There is a pond painted inside the opening, a bouquet of blooming lotus flowers is painted on the right side, and a pair of mandarin ducks are painted on the left side with their bellies touching each other and looking at each other affectionately.
The mandarin duck is a symbol of pure love and harmony between husband and wife, and is known as an auspicious bird.
The combination of lotus and mandarin duck forms the lotus pond and mandarin duck pattern, also known as Man Chi Jiao.
It is overall realistic, with delicate painting techniques, smooth lines, and beautiful composition, implying happiness and peace. It is one of people's favorite decorations.
Both of the above have sharp lips, petal mouths turned outward, shallow arc belly, bent waist, and round feet.
Eight fan-shaped consecrations are painted on the waist and inner wall, separated by long strips of consecration with a ribbon pattern in the middle.
The interior of the fan-shaped consecration is decorated with folded flower patterns and dark eight immortal patterns. The outer wall of the plate is randomly outlined with hexagonal circles and long strips to highlight the interior.
The blue and white hair color is blue with a hint of gray, the carcass is light and thin, and the texture is firm and dense.
The Dark Eight Immortals pattern is one of the common typical patterns in Clark porcelain.
The dark Eight Immortals pattern on porcelain refers to only the Eight Immortals' ritual objects being painted, rather than their human figures.
The eight immortals in Taoism each have different magic weapons.
Tieguai Li has an iron staff and gourd, Zhongli of the Han Dynasty has a banana fan, Zhang Guolao has a fish drum bamboo slip, and Lan Caihe has a flower basket.
He Xiangu has lotus flowers, Lu Dongbin has a sword, Han Xiangzi has a transverse flute, and Cao Guojiu has a jade tablet.
The magical tools they carry with them each have their own magical uses.
This decorative theme implies the blessings of the gods and is full of Taoist color.
These plates are very unique, and the natural bowls are also good.
Bowls are second only to plates among the porcelain excavated from shipwrecks.
According to the shape of the mouth of the bowl, it can be divided into flap mouth, octagonal and round mouth bowls. The diameter of the large size is about 23cm, and the diameter of the small size is about 9cm.
The decorative patterns are very rich, including flowers and birds, figures, auspicious animals, flowers, Ganoderma lucidum, dragon patterns, phoenix patterns, eight immortals, butterfly patterns, etc.
For example, the Ming Dynasty blue and white flower and bird pattern petals fold along the edge of the bowl. The inner bottom of this bowl is painted with blue and white flower and bird patterns, and the mouth edge and inner wall are painted with blue and white four dragon heads holding auspicious clouds in the shape of a wishful head.
The outer abdominal wall of the bowl is painted with blue and white four auspicious cloud-shaped Ruyi head consecrations and long strips of consecrations, and two curly grass and flower patterns are outlined along the outer edge.
The hair color of blue and white is faint blue, the carcass is thin and firm, and the color is white.
The wish-fulfilling object is one of the eight treasures of Buddhism. It is a Buddhist tool used by monks to record scriptures and is also used for decoration. It is a traditional mascot in my country.
The auspicious cloud is in the shape of Ruyi, and it has the dual good wishes of "auspiciousness" and "ruyi" at the same time.
In addition to these bowls and dishes, the fourth type of porcelain that is more common is military holdings.
This kind of porcelain held by the military is found on most sunken ships. It is a very popular export porcelain.
I have mentioned it several times before, but I have never studied this thing carefully. After all, ordinary people don’t know about it.
At this time, what was placed in front of Chen Wenzhe was a Ming blue and white elephant head and square foot military holder.
It is 17cm long and 9.5cm wide.
"Junchi" comes from Yinsan, which is the transliteration of Sanskrit "kendi" and "knudikā", and is also translated as Junchi, Junchi, Junchi, Zhuozhijia, etc.
In fact, this thing means water bottle in Chinese, and it is also called a purification bottle or a bath bottle.
The military holding system in our country was introduced with Yin San Buddhism. At the earliest time, monks carried water containers to store water for drinking and hand purification when they traveled.
This kind of porcelain has a long neck, a small opening at the top, and flow between the shoulders and abdomen, without attachment.
The mouth on the long neck is used for drinking water, and the streams on the shoulders and abdomen are used for collecting water.
When using, grab the neck with your hands and immerse the bottle in water up to the mouth of your shoulders and abdomen. When the water is full, you can lift it out, which is convenient and labor-saving.
With the development of Buddhism, military holdings gradually evolved into Buddhist instruments and were used in various rituals or in the ordination and initiation ceremonies of monks and nuns.
Of course, this thing eventually became a magical weapon held by Buddhist gods.
Such as Guanyin Bodhisattva, Maitreya Bodhisattva, Xianhu Bodhisattva, etc., generally hold such a bottle in their hands.
From the 4th century to the 8th century AD, Buddhism became popular in Southeast Asia and other countries, and the demand for military weapons increased.
This has caused some kilns in my country that produce porcelain for export to produce military wares, which are exported to Southeast Asia and other European countries.
At the same time, Yin Si also used the military holding as a water purification bottle.
Some people like it, some people use it, so naturally it is made and some people sell it.
A total of 20 military weapons were discovered from the shipwreck of the "Wanli", the type of which can be determined, and 2 are stored in the Guangdong Provincial Museum.
Animal-shaped military holdings, such as the blue and white elephant head square foot military holding, account for a small number of the water holdings and are relatively rare.
The blue and white elephant head of the Ming Dynasty is held by a military figure. Among the porcelain found in the country, there seems to be only one piece in the museum collection.
This kind of porcelain has round lips, a narrow mouth, a long neck with a convex upper end, a square belly, a flat bottom, and no glaze.
The whole body is in the shape of an elephant, and one side of the shoulder is decorated with an elephant head and double pores.
On both sides of the elephant's head are blue and white paintings on the ears and eyebrows, with a flat strip attached to the bottom.
The rim of the mouth is painted with a blue and white Ruyi cloud pattern, and the long neck is decorated with a banana leaf pattern.
The square belly serves as the body of the elephant, and the back of the elephant is painted with a blue and white brocade seat cushion.
Bells are painted on the head and tail, and decorated with Yingluo patterns.
The blue and white hair color is blue with a hint of gray, and the white glaze color is dark blue.
The carcass is thick, the shape is sturdy and unique, and it has good ornamental value.
In fact, among the exported porcelain, in addition to the military holdings that are popular because of their faith, the other most exported ones are gourd bottles and bile bottles.
The gourd bottle, as the name suggests, is a bottle style based on the gourd found in nature.
Gourd bottles appeared as early as the New Age, and may have been a relatively important crop at that time.
In fact, if you think about it, you will know that if there are no ceramics, is it more convenient to carve a small bowl out of wood to hold water, or is it more convenient to just use a natural gourd?
The gourd is definitely more convenient. It is a natural water reservoir and is naturally important.
This is like the emergence of the Jade Pig Dragon. It must be because pigs were very important to the ancient immortals that they slowly evolved into totems.
And gourds are certainly very important to human life.