Dish

Item number Edz1038 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

Public

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Data
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Description

Dish with outward-slanting sides and raised foot ring. Decoration in dark blue on grey-green round. Interior decoration of cursory brush marks in blue that possibly represent a simplified Chinese character, and a character consisting of two squares, one above the other, scratched through the glaze; abstract designs on sides; exterior has two thin, blue bands near foot. Unglazed ring above foot reveals reddish body.

History Of Use

Wealthier families owned dishes of this type, perhaps a group of 25, to have on hand for banquets held on festive occasions such as the marriage of a son. They were used for the serving of special festival foods such as stewed pork and stewed mushrooms. Few families were able to own a set of this size, but they would loan them to others and replace them if they were broken.
After the mid-twentieth century the New Territories of Hong Kong began to undergo fundamental changes. The people who had been settled there before 1898, when the British colonizers claimed the area, began to give up rice agriculture and coastal fishing, turning instead to wage labour and increased employment overseas. By the end of the century, educational opportunities leading to the possibility of white-collar work also increased, together with western influences. These changes meant that objects and clothing once useful and appropriate were no longer needed and generally were discarded. Some were saved by their owners, who sometimes were willing to donate them to museums, sharing, also, their knowledge of how they were made and used. As people became wealthier and as many moved from village housing, most banquets have come to be held in restaurants.

Cultural Context

domestic; festival

Specific Techniques

The unglazed circle suggests that the plates were stacked in the kiln.

Narrative

This object is one of a number of old and no longer used objects collected from relatives of Mrs. Yau Chan, Shek –ying. She understood the purpose of the museum and of developing its collections, and encouraged her relatives to donate them. She also documented the objects for MOA based on her remarkable memory because, like most women her age, she had no opportunity to go to school.
Chik Wai Koon Village was about to be destroyed to make way for the development of Shatin new town, and its residents moved to new housing. This dish was kept in the barn of Cheung, Kun-tai. Mrs. Yau said it had been the property of her own father’s sister’s husband’s father. This dish likely was made in the well-known kilns at Wun Yiu, Tai Po.