Shiwan Ceramic Sculpture
By admin on 2015-01-14

Shiwan is a town located in the southwest of the city of Foshan, with a long history of ceramic sculpture passed down through several generations of craftsmen. Its 5000-year-long ceramic making history has accumulated a rich and abundant ceramic culture, and won Shiwan the high prestige of the “Ceramics Capital of Southern China”

Unlike Jingdezhen’s porcelain sculptures, which were produced in Guan Yao (official manufacturer), Shiwan ceramics were mainly produced in response to social and economic needs. Ceramic sculptures for daily use as well as for art were both produced in Shiwan. The predecessors of Shiwan ceramic sculptures were first discovered in the cultural relics unearthed in the East Han Tombs of Shiwan. Shiwan ceramic making continuously developed before the Ming Dynasty, reaching its peak during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Having experienced a tough time during the Republican period of China, after the establishment of People’s Republic of China, Shiwan ceramics began its flourishingly innovative era.

Made with unique artistic style, Shiwan ceramic sculptures have the characteristics of being humanistic, regional and national. “Shiwan Doll” ceramic sculptures can be classified into five categories: human, animal, utensil, mini-sculpture and tile ridge sculpture. Vividly designed and properly exaggerated from reality, “Shiwan Doll” ceramic sculptures have formed distinguished regional characteristics.

Shiwan ceramic sculptures are closely linked to architecture. In order to cater to the decoration of temples and other buildings, the making of flowerpots, fishbowls, window grills, and screen walls developed rapidly. To meet the demand of religious activities, large amounts of sculptures of icons and gods of gates were produced. Besides being artistically valuable, Shiwan ceramic sculptures also possess high practical usefulness.

To make one sculpture, six steps have to be followed: design, refine the pug, shape, ornament, glaze and calcine. There is no sure formula for the duration of calcination; it all depends on master’s experience. Only a skillful master knows how to use fire of different temperatures on the calcination of different parts of the sculpture.

Whether it is human, animal or utensil, every single work of Shiwan ceramic sculptures possesses vivid personal traits. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, generations of craftsmen have made hundreds of Guan Yu and Zhong Kui, each one with such distinctive traits that very few repetitions can be found. Based on their own understanding of the art, craftsmen do their best to make each work a unique one in the world, never plagiarizing others. This has been one of the fine traditions of Shiwan ceramics, and over the decades since 1949, both its subject and technique have improved tremendously.

The glazes of Shiwan ceramic sculptures are thick and heavy with dignified colors. So far, together with the crystalline glaze invented in 1963 in China, there have been more than 90 kinds of glaze colors, adding floweriness to the sculptures. Shiwan ceramics mainly use local materials and their mixed use of red and white soil material has been a symbolic divergence from other ceramics. The matching of design and color makes Shiwan sculptures more attractive and thought-provoking than others.

While maintaining and developing traditional skills, in order to meet the requirement of mass production, the producing procedures of Shiwan ceramic sculptures, such as the shaping and glazing process, have adopted modern techniques. Therefore, the furnace transmutation is another feature of Shiwan ceramic sculptures.