Item Records

This page shows all the information we have about this item. Both the institution that physically holds this item, and RRN members have contributed the knowledge on this page. You’re looking at the item record provided by the holding institution. If you scroll further down the page, you’ll see the information from RRN members, and can share your own knowledge too.

The RRN processes the information it receives from each institution to make it more readable and easier to search. If you’re doing in-depth research on this item, be sure to take a look at the Data Source tab to see the information exactly as it was provided by the institution.

These records are easy to share because each has a unique web address. You can copy and paste the location from your browser’s address bar into an email, word document, or chat message to share this item with others.

  • Data
  • Data Source

This information was automatically generated from data provided by MOA: University of British Columbia. It has been standardized to aid in finding and grouping information within the RRN. Accuracy and meaning should be verified from the Data Source tab.

Description

A heavily potted globular jar with wide mouth and six vertical lugs on the shoulder. The lugs are of the dao die mask design. Alternating between the lugs are moulded horizontal dragons and incised flowers. The main body motif are two bands of sinuous and stylized floral design. The interior, base and underside are unglazed. A set of inked numbers on lip.

History Of Use

Chinese ceramics were important trade items in Southeast Asia during the 11th - 16th century C.E. This jar was probably exported from China to the Philippines via the Burmese port of Martaban from which the generic name for large jars is derived. They are also referred to as dragon jars because they often have a moulded dragon decoration on their sides. These pot-bellied jars were designed for long journeys at sea, with lugs big enough to pass a rope through and as containers for food, oil and water as well as for packing smaller porcelains. Besides China, Martaban jars were also manufactured in other parts of Southeast Asia such as Burma, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam and are still being manufactured today in parts of Asia. Due to their physical characteristics - resonance, vitreosity and durability - Chinese ceramics became fully integrated with the ideology and ritual in Philippine societies and played an important role in all aspects of cultural life (Langrick, p.61). Their functions were varied and included utilitarian, ceremonial, religious roles, as heirlooms, in mortuary ceremonies as burial goods and as items of prestige. Treasured for their supernatural powers, large jars were considered to harbour spirits or household gods while some spoke prophesying events. As heirlooms, large jars together with stories of their origins and other tales associated with them, often mythical and wondrous, were handed down from one generation to another. With age, jars increased in value and one's wealth was largely reflected in the number of old jars possessed.

Narrative

An heirloom piece, defined by Dr. Tecson as one never in the ground, hence different from an excavated piece, and not necessarily from his family. This piece is from the town of San Miguel, Zamboanga del Sur, Mindanao Island, Philippines.

Specific Techniques

Probably hand-built with clay rings of varying sizes. These were fused together by holding a mallet with a convex face against the inside surface of the jar and tapping gently with a concave mallet held against the outer surface.

Iconographic Meaning

In many indigenous groups of the Philippines, supernatural power was attributed to Chinese ceramics because of the ringing sound emitted when lightly tapped and their vitreous, shiny glazed surfaces which impart an impermeable quality. The ringing sound was seen as a magical voice able to attract the attention of powerful ancestor spirits. Their impermeable and seemingly imperishable surfaces were believed to have great protective power against all kinds of influences, from evil spirits to poisons (Langrick, p. 55-56). While the dragon is a traditional Chinese symbol embodying the yang or male principle and emblematic of good fortune, it is also associated with the mythical Naga serpent by the peoples of Southeast Asia. Dao die is an animal mask motif of ancient Chinese origin. The animals depicted vary from dragon, feline, bovine, and indeterminate.

Cultural Context

exchange; status; ceremonial; heirloom.

Item History

With an account, you can ask other users a question about this item. Request an Account

With an account, you can submit information about this item and have it visible to all users and institutions on the RRN. Request an Account

Similar Items