Honoring the art of ceramic restoration
Print Edition
Shanghai native Jiang Daoyin, one of China’s top ceramic restoration specialists, was recognized earlier this summer for his contribution to Chinese culture when ceramic repair was added to the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
The list began in 2011 as a way to promote traditional culture and protect the intangible heritage of China. The items on the list are protected by authorities at various administrative levels, including at the national and district levels.
The recommendation to include the art of ceramic repair was made by authorities in Changning District, who are now charged with protecting 26 such intangible cultural heritage items at the district level. To date though, ceramic repair is the only item from Changning District to make the national list.
“We (restoration specialists) are like doctors for ceramic,” Jiang tells Shanghai Daily. “Holding scalpels as well, we try to return the relics to good condition again with minimal injury.”
According to Jiang, Shanghai’s history as an economic hub helped turn it into an epicenter of ceramic repair and restoration.
“Shanghai is the birthplace of modern industrialization in China. With an abundance of wealth and talent gathering in the city, Shanghai was also a key center in the collection of ancient porcelain,” he explains.
By the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), a group of ceramics restoration specialists had emerged in the city. At first they mainly used an organic gum made from tree, insect and fish matter to reassemble fragile broken vases and other ceramic objects. Those who plied this trade often walked the streets with their toolboxes in hand, searching for clients.
Once Shanghai opened as a commercial port to the outside world, antique dealers flooded the city. As professional collectors and traders poured into the rapidly-expanding ceramic and porcelain market, this provided additional impetus for ceramic repair to develop.
Restoring broken porcelain objects to their original glory is an art of precision and patience. Shattered ceramic objects unearthed from excavation sites need to be carefully cleaned and reassembled in accordance with their original design.
One of Jiang’s most accomplished restoration jobs was on a flask made in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). The flask is now on display at the Capital Museum in Beijing as part of an exhibition on qinghua (blue and white) porcelain. The vessel has a round rim, a fine straight neck, gliding sloped shoulders and a tiny phoenix head at one handle. Its round flat body is adorned with an intricate blue pattern.
In the 1970s, archeologists uncovered the flask at a site in southern Beijing. It was found smashed into 48 shards and covered with earth. It remained in the museum’s warehouse until 2003, when Jiang was tasked with bringing the centuries’ old object back to life.
Jiang still remembers his first glimpse of the flask. Its shards were roughly joined, and missing sections were filled with plaster.
“Still, it wasn’t until I cleaned it up that I realized just how seriously the vase had been damaged. All the broken pieces were placed on my work desk — a few of the bigger ones were palm-sized, while others where the size of beans,” he recalls, adding that one-third of the flask was missing.
Restoring this treasure wasn’t easy. To fill in the missing pieces, Jiang attempted to take measurements from a similar flask at the Palace Museum. When authorities there denied his request, the craftsman had to estimate the measurements by sight. Using his deep knowledge of Chinese pottery, Jiang drafted a plan and contacted pottery makers in Jingdezhen to craft the missing pieces.
Jingdezhen, located in Jiangxi Province, has long been one of China’s leading centers of porcelain production. It is also the only place in the country where traditional wood-fired kilns are still in use.
“Various kilns have their own qualities. There is no way you could make the missing pieces elsewhere in China, let alone at an electric kiln, which are now the most common.”
Unfortunately, despite careful research and Jiang’s best estimates, the new pieces didn’t fit the flask. Jiang was forced to contact the Palace Museum once again. This time, he was allowed to photograph the similar flask for more accurate measurements.
“The quality and classically beautiful features of the relics need to be preserved... This is the key. We need to make sure the restored piece looks as close to the original as possible,” he says. “It’s like healing an 80-year-old patient — you can’t make him look like an 18 year-old after the whole process,” he adds. This means restorers have to resist fixing flaws in antiques and stick to the original design as faithfully as possible — imperfections and all.
It took Jiang two years to complete the restoration process on the qinghua flask. “Seeing it being appreciated by visitors makes it all worthwhile,” he says.
Jiang’s own journey as a restorer began in 1973, when he started working at Shanghai Museum as an apprentice in his current craft. Since then, he’s restored around 600 ancient ceramic pieces.
Today, Jiang is also focused on passing the torch to the next generation of restorers. With many masters in ceramic restoration now senior citizens, Jiang hopes more young people will take up the craft. Jiang teaches classes on restoration and often gives talks at local universities about this unique form of culture.
“Some might ask, isn’t ceramic restoration just sticking shards together? It’s way more than that. It is a creative art that combines sculpture, painting, calligraphy and other aspects of art and culture,” he says.
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