Question chosen: 3
Compare two ceramics from the Tang shipwreck. Consider the following in your discussion: patrons, producers, materials, production, function, and meanings.
Tentative Claim
The Blue and White wares bear high artistic values and it is described as “a pearl of the porcelain world”.However, the Green-splashed wares also has its own aesthetic.
Two ceramics:
Ewer
(Green-splashed ware)
Blue-and-White Dish Found in the shipwreck
Introduction Paragraph
- In 1998, the Tang shipwreck was discovered by the fishermen diving for sea cucumbers off the western shore of Belitung Island in the Java Sea.
- The bottom of the ship was teared out which may be destructed by the nearby reef. It settled onto the seabed after sailing another 150 meters.
- This ship contained a remarkable number of ceramics of about 70,000 pieces, from the Tang Dynasty in the 9th Breakages of these treasures had been limited as the wave, salt and sand seemed to protect them from damages.
- It showed the active trading situations between China and the other places of the world like southeast Asia, Africa, India and the Middle East.
- Some of them are the bowls, ewer, luxurious objects of gold and silver and a small amount of cash in the forms of coins and silver ingots.
- Compare the Green-splashed Ewer and the Blue-and-White Ware in the essay.
- Explain and compare the patrons, producers, materials, production, function, and meanings of the two ceramics.
Essay Plan: Compare the followings
Para 2 – Explaining and comparing patrons, producers
Para 3 – Explaining and comparing materials, production
Para 4 – Explaining and comparing function, meanings
Conclusion
Restate claim and summarise the main points.Include personal opinions.
Reference
Krahl, Regina. Shipwrecked: Tang Treasures and Monsoon Winds. Edited by John Guy. Washington, D.C.: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, 2010.