Crescent-shaped kendi from the Santa Cruz shipwreck
This week on #MaritimeMonday features the crescent-shaped Chinese blue and white porcelain kendi from the Santa Cruz shipwreck. The trade vessel carried Asian stoneware and porcelain ceramics for trade along with metal, glass, stone, and wood objects, as well as organics and other ecofacts when it met its untimely demise about 10 nautical miles from the shores of Santa Cruz Municipality, Zambales Province. Analysis of the Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, and Burmese/Myanmar ceramics places the sinking date of the Santa Cruz from the late 15th century to the early 16th century CE (Common Era). For more information about the Santa Cruz shipwreck, please see https://tinyurl.com/SantaCruzShipwreck.
The Chinese blue and white porcelain numbered in the thousands, mostly in the form of dishes, bowls, teacups, and jars. There are unusual forms in limited numbers such as the crescent-shaped blue and white kendi. They are made of thick porcelain, have a central cylindrical neck and stand on four small feet. The long neck ends in a bulbous mouth and a small spout protrudes from one side. A small conical top covers the upturned ends. They are classified as pouring vessels where you place the liquid in the central neck and pour it in the side spout. Some pieces have motifs ranging from floral scrolls, panels, and waves. Two pieces have plain blue color under the glaze.
The forms have been influenced by Islamic metalwork, which began its circulation as early as the 12th century CE. Some of the motifs (panels and floral scrolls) have been termed Islamicate, first coined by Marshall Hodgson in 1974 to refer to “all creative and scientific work which relate not to the religion itself but to the social, cultural complex historically associated with Islam and the Muslims”. The Islamicate ceramics in some Philippine shipwrecks have been studied including the crescent-shaped kendi. The form and motif strongly suggests a market for Islamic communities, possibly in Mindanao, Indonesia, and the Indian Ocean states.
Your #NationalMuseumPH is now open to the public with minimum health protocols. Please visit our newly upgraded ‘300 Years of Maritime Trade in the Philippines’ exhibition on the second floor of the National Museum of Anthropology Building. You may also opt to watch the virtual tour of the said gallery here: https://tinyurl.com/300YearsOfMaritimeTradePH. Please monitor this website and social media pages such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for further information and booking arrangements.
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