The Ming Gap and Shipwreck Ceramics in Southeast Asia
Towards a Chronology of Thai Trade Ware
Description:... Shipwrecks discovered throughout Southeast Asia and the precious cargoes they contain represent invaluable information for the study of international trade networks. However, these treasure troves of Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese ceramics have been unsystematically studied and rarely published. This book addresses this issue with the author tracing the developments and fluctuations of the international ceramic trade between China and Southeast Asia focusing specifically on the l4th-15th centuries, a period known in ceramic scholarship as the 'Ming gap', a term which arose to describe the ban placed on the export of Chinese ceramics by the Ming dynasty. The author illustrates how as a result, Southeast Asian ceramics began to fill this void and for over acentury became the dominant ceramic trade ware throughout the region. Analysing over 120 shipwrecks, the author for the first time proposes a chronology of ceramic production placing Thai ceramics into five chronological periods and discussing issues such as the relationship between Sukhothai and Sawankhalok kilns, the discovery of exported Burmese celadon wares and the location of Vietnamese production sites for ceramic exports. The text is supplemented by a database presented through 30 tables, 73 plates featuring 295 reproductions of colour photographs and eight drawings, a bibliography, and indexes. Book jacket.
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