underglaze painting... calligraphy; Chinese inkstone

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The calligraphy was executed as part of the 'underglaze painting' process (p. 585). On Changsha wares, this involved painting the textual or decorative motifs directly onto the ceramic body before applying a clear glaze and firing at high temperatures (p. 585, Fig 2). In addition, a physical 'Chinese inkstone with an engraved insect' (p. 588, Fig 3) was recovered, measuring 10 cm in length, which would have been used for grinding solid ink sticks for traditional writing.

Evidence

"The bulk of the cargo consisted of Changsha wares of different forms, including some 55,000 bowls and 1,500 ewers carrying a variety of motifs in underglaze painting, from ships and monsters to calligraphy (Figure 2)."

Remarks

The presence of calligraphy on mass-produced export ceramics indicates a developed aesthetic appreciation for Chinese calligraphy in the Islamic world, specifically Iraq (p. 591). The inkstone suggests that literate Chinese travelers or merchants were active on board these ships, and that writing materials were part of the personal belongings or traded items (p. 588).