FIELD WORK
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STUDY OF HUMANITY
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Translating Borges: What Lies Beyond the Text
by Antonius Rhys
In early 2023, I began reading the works of Jorge Luis Borges in Spanish. Almost immediately, Borges’s 1970 story, “The Gospel According to Mark” raised my interest when I first heard the Spanish audiobook version. I previously listened to and read many of his short stories but only the English translations. Reading the story in Spanish evoked a deep enjoyment and satisfaction, akin to when an outstanding song touches you and summons a feeling that life is good. Later that evening, excited to share the experience, I read the story to my wife. She does not speak Spanish so naturally I read the English translation by Andrew Hurley. The story did not have the same gripping effect for her and I, alike.
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MATERIAL CULTURE STUDIES
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White Wares of Northern China: An Historical Overview of the 5th to 8th Centuries
by Neumann Anderson
A remarkable achievement occurred in northern China in the 6th century. In less than 150 years, northern potters transitioned away from their 5,000 year old tradition of low fired pottery and created a new high fired white glazed ware. The beauty and functionality of this novel ware would exert its influence throughout the world.
Zhadou: An Elegant Form Lost to Time
by Neumann Anderson
Some ceramic forms function like a bridge through time, remaining virtually unchanged for a millennium. In form, our contemporary plates and bowls remain virtually identical to those our ancestors dined with thousands of years ago. Yet there are other ceramic forms that have no contemporary counterparts. The physical objects remain but their forms have, so to speak, become extinct. The piece in this essay is of the latter type.
Why This Qing Brush-Holder is Not Kangxi
by Céline Andre
When we think about blue and white Chinese porcelain or hear the word Jingdezhen (景德镇) in contemporary society, we will immediately direct our thoughts to imperial ware in the late dynastic period of China, as it appears to be the most prevalent part of blue and white ware (qinghua, 青花) production found within Jingdezhen records. Jingdezhen’s iconic blue and white ceramics are known as ‘porcelain’ (ci, 瓷), which, according to Anne Gerritsen, refers to “glazed, high-fired ceramics, though not necessarily fired above 1300 degrees Celsius.”
New Discoveries Regarding the Important Cultural Property ‘Konoha Tenmoku’
by Hitoshi Kobayashi, translated by Hana Anderson
In Japan, a large number of Karamono Tenmoku (chawan) 唐物天目(茶碗) –Tenmoku tea bowls imported from China– have been passed down for generations as heirlooms. These include Youhen Tenmoku 曜変天目 (iridescent Tenmoku) and Yuteki Tenmoku 油滴天目 (oil-spot tenmoku), many of which are designated as national treasures or important cultural properties . One Yuteki Tenmoku designated as a national treasure is housed at the Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka and is the only Kenyou 建窯 (Jian kiln) Yuteki Tenmoku endowed with this distinction (Frontispiece 2). It is regarded as the finest masterpiece of heirloom Yuteki Tenmoku present in Japan.
A Beautiful Octagonal Longquan Vase: Yuan to Early Ming Dynasty
by Lucian Filler
This project started with an investigation of the background and construction of the Longquan Yuan-Ming octagonal vase featured in this article. As the project proceeded, it became immediately apparent that the informational body related to Longquan celadons is vast, and this article would only scratch the surface of the knowledge base that has been generated by others on the topic. As such, in order to limit the scope of this investigation, this writing will focus primarily on Longquan wares from the Five Dynasties period to the Ming Dynasty.
A Concise Survey of a Small Jun Ware Bowl
by Aesara Rhys
Jun ware ceramics were made in a variety of colors ranging from “green-blue, blue-white, sky blue, and lavender.” This tea bowl is covered with a rich darker blue shade with purple splashes. The purple splashes are a reaction of copper-rich pigments added to the bluish glaze, which typically appear in hues ranging from pink or red, purple to green, and even black, depending on the amount applied and its thickness. For this vessel, a generous amount of copper was added to create the purple. Its splashes are a dark deep navy purple, in comparison to most other examples which exhibit more magenta-hued purples.
A Small White Glazed Ding Lotus Bowl from Jin Dynasty (1125-1234)
by Dante Dumont
Small enough to fit in the palm of one’s hand, the delicacy of this tea bowl’s thin wall is gracefully balanced to the touch. Even and thinly coated, the translucency of the yellow-tinted glaze allows one to see some degrees of discoloration in the off-white body clay, which is only exposed along the rim of the bowl, evidence that this piece may have been prepared for a metal band. The interior of the bowl contains a carved and incised lotus pattern, and the lack of precision and embellishment in the carved lines that makeup the sprig below the lotus bloom suggests that it was carved in haste.
Jizhou Leaf Bowl: A Master Achievement in Glaze Decoration
by Bernard Azevedo
I endeavor to examine the background and history of the Jizhou kilns to better understand the making of this Jizhou leaf bowl. Compared to other major Chinese ceramic kilns of its time, there has been limited information generated in English about the Jizhou kilns and the wares they produced. This limitation of readily available research material has added some additional complexity to this study. As a result, efforts for the initial study of this featured Jizhou leaf bowl will focus on the period from the Northern Song to the Yuan Dynasties.