Pottery in the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long during the Tran Dynasty

04/03/2024

Tran dynasty ceramics were found in abundance in excavation pits and were often found with architectural decorative ceramics of the same period. There are many types of ceramics during this period, including: white glaze, celadon, green glaze, brown glaze, brown glaze and blue glaze.

Due to direct development and inheritance from Ly Dynasty ceramics, Tran Dynasty ceramics basically have the same style as Ly Dynasty ceramics in terms of shape, glaze color and decorative patterns. Because of this peculiarity, separating Ly Dynasty ceramics from Tran Dynasty ceramics is not easy. However, based on some research results on stand-making techniques, we are now initially able to distinguish the difference between Ly ceramic and Tran ceramic. In general, the base-making technique of Tran Dynasty ceramics is often not as carefully crafted as that of Ly Dynasty ceramics.

The same goes for decorative patterns. Although they have the same pattern layout as the Ly Dynasty, the details of the Tran Dynasty ceramics are not as sophisticated and sophisticated as the Ly Dynasty ceramics. Especially for unique glazed ceramics, besides ceramics decorated with engraved patterns, the Tran Dynasty also popularized ceramics with patterns printed in molds. It seems that this type of pattern was very developed in the Tran Dynasty and it is much richer and more diverse in patterns than Ly Dynasty ceramics. In the excavation in area D, fragments of ceramic printing molds of this period were also found, along with many pieces of fired bags, millets and waste pottery.

In addition to the abundance of unique types of ceramics (white enamel, celadon, brown enamel), many high-quality brown-flowered ceramics were found in the excavation area. Among them, the most notable is the large jar with a lid decorated with lotus flowers and jars and pots decorated with leaf and string patterns. In particular, at hole D5, a decorative pot with four birds looking for food in four different positions was found, interspersed with lotus leaf branches and small lotus flowers. According to the artifacts in hand, this is one of the unique brown-flower ceramic specimens of the Tran Dynasty in Vietnam.

A unique and noteworthy new feature of Tran dynasty ceramics is the appearance of blue-flower ceramics. This type of pottery is found quite a lot in excavation pits and is commonly found in bowls and plates painted with iron brown and cobalt blue chrysanthemum branches similar to the ceramics that were exported to Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Japan in the past. around the middle of the fourteenth century.

It is worth noting that in the holes in area D, large piles of plates painted with chrysanthemum branches were found along with many piles of unique glazed ceramics decorated with clouds in the shape of chrysanthemums, phoenix birds and flowers. This document further contributes to confirming that, in addition to the above signs of Ly Dynasty pottery kilns, there may also be Tran Dynasty pottery kilns here.

Exhibition of archives ‘Hanoi and the Gate Gates’

Thầy trò Trường THCS Nguyễn Tri Phương dâng hương tưởng nhớ Tổng đốc Hoàng Diệu

Pottery in the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long during the Tran Dynasty