Nonya ware
(China)
- Title
- Covered jar 'kamcheng'
- Place of origin
-
China
- Year
- 19th century-20th century
- Media category
- Ceramic
- Materials used
- porcelain with enamel decoration
- Dimensions
-
31.5 x 37.0cm overall; 30.0cm diam. of rim:
a - part a - lid; 12 x 35cm; height x diameter
b - part b - base; 21.8 x 37cm; height x diameter
- Signature & date
- Not signed. Not dated.
- Credit
- Gift of Michael Gleeson-White 1988
- Accession number
- 160.1988.a-b
- Location
- Upper Asian gallery
- Further information
'Kamcheng' is a Hokkien word meaning 'covered jar'. A 'kamcheng' was variously used as a container for water, pickles and other types of food. China exported a large number of these ceramics to the Straits Settlements communities in Penang, Malacca and Singapore in the 1800s, where a distinct culture evolved known by the Malay word 'peranakan', which describes those who were born locally, whether they be Chinese, Indian, Arab, Indonesian or another. The word Baba describes specifically Straights-born Chinese men, while the term Nonya is used for the women, and it is this latter term that has been adopted to describe the Chinese ceramics made at Jingdezhen to the order of Straits Chinese from the 1850s to the early 1900s. The wares were of two types: richly decorated enamel wares for use on auspicious occasions, and functional blue-and-white wares for everyday use.
The Asian Collections, AGNSW, 2003, pg.145.
- Bibliography (2)
-
'Export Ceramics', The Asian Collections Art Gallery of New South Wales 2003, 2003, 145 (colour illus.).
'Subtle beauty of Malaccan china' by Linda Chee, pg. 1., Leisure Times 12 Apr 1980, 12 Apr 1980. General reference
