Tradeware ceramics in the Philippines
[2] These porcelain are classified from type I-V.[2] The case studies of burials and ritual in relation to Philippine tradeware ceramics illustrate the sociopolitical importance of these vessels.
[2] By the end of the 14th century, primary production sites in Jingdazhen shifted from bluish-white colored wares to predominantly blue-and-white porcelain.
[2] Kraak ware can be classified as any thin, blue-and-white glazed porcelain with a rough base that has diverging chatter markings.
[2] In addition, the Jingdezhen potters implemented a multitude of measures to inhibit sand and other debris from the floor from adhering to the firing vessel.
[2] The Yuegang seaport soon shifted to the forefront of international maritime trade, and as a result, export-driven businesses that focused on silk and ceramics were multiplying all throughout Zhangzhou at an exponential rate.
[2] Prior to Spanish arrival and the Manila Galleon trade, tradeware ceramics were limited to high-ranking elites and chiefs.
[2] In order to compare the quality of different types of porcelain across varying eras found at different production sites, a classification system produced by Li Min (2013) is often used.
[2] This is due to the fact that the Jingdezhen site utilized the local technological tradition of small gourd-shaped kilns that fired a low quantity of wares per round.
[2] Maritime traders that wanted to profit off of the expanding global trade of the sixteenth century generated export-driven factories in Zhangzhou.
[4] For example, a Karitunan adult (KR-50) in Calatagan was buried with several grave goods in addition to a blue-and-white porcelain plate over the pelvis with chrysanthemum design.
[4] The tradeware ceramics in the grave of KR-50 had a gold ring, blade, solar motifs, and a stone charm to indicate this individual's participation in raiding and trading.
Investigating Status in Calatagan, she claims this individual (KR-50) was most likely a male datu who had a prestigious role in Pre-Spanish society due to his expertise in raiding and maritime trade.
[4] The catalonan healers in Pre-Hispanic Philippines also had a prestigious position in society and assisted in ritual sacrifices by striking porcelain vessels in order for their Tagalog deities to hear them during the offering procession.
[5] 51 adults were buried at this site and an infant was interred in a Chinese brown-glazed Ming jar that dates back to the late thirteenth-early fourteenth century.
[5] In the Tanjay region, chiefs from upland communities were in charge of redistribution of prestige or foreign goods and glazed Asian tradeware had restricted distribution.
[5] Thus, prior to colonialism in the Philippines, tradeware ceramics were a marker of social status and were passed down to the next generation as discussed in the Balingasay, Bolinao case study.
[2] Porcelain served as symbols of political influence, as they were not only used in ritualized feasts associated with life crises and calendrical events, but also negotiation incentives amongst polities.
[2] A study in Tanjay, Negros, Philippines demonstrated that the immense quantity of foreign porcelains in burials and settlements increased significantly from the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries.
[2] Prior to the fifteenth century (and the introduction of the Manila Galleon trade), the high-quality exported porcelain were predominantly limited to high-ranking elites and chiefs.
