Koji pottery is a type of folk art commonly seen on traditional architecture, combining modeling, firing and painting, that originally developed in China’s Fujian province. Popular themes include auspicious wishes, legends and fables, folk tales and stories from history. The pottery is often used on temples or as decorative elements on traditional residences.
Koji pottery is quite unique: stylistically, and in terms of glaze colors, it is worlds apart from the Song dynasty ru, ge, jun and ding pottery, the underglaze blue porcelains of the Yuan and Ming periods, or the yangcai polychromes of the Qing. The polychromatic koji pottery derives from the tri-chromatic sancai pottery of the Tang, and became popular in the lingnan region of south China during the Tang, through the Song and beyond. After that, during the Ming and Qing periods, it was influenced by the overglaze colors of Jingdezhen and the enamel colors introduced from the West. It was brought over to central and southern Taiwan by immigrants from liangnan, and from this point on evolved into the polychrome koji pottery we see today.
Some people say that the vibrant colors of koji pottery are too gaudy, and lack a refined aesthetic, but I personally disagree. Yes, some rather unsightly examples do exist, but there are others that are completely different. Whether it be the modeling, the beauty of the glaze color, the intriguing lines in the cracks on the glaze surface, or the decorative techniques used, to many people’s eyes koji pottery should be considered more an art form than a type of folk craft.
Photo: Paul Cooper, Taipei Times
照片：台北時報記者古德謙攝
The work in the photo was made by Yingge koji potter Wu Liang-pin.
(Paul Cooper, Taipei Times)
交阯陶原是中國福建省發展出來的一種民間工藝，融合了塑型、燒陶、繪畫於一體，常見於傳統建築。主題常為吉祥福慶、神話傳說、民間傳奇或者歷史故事，常用於裝飾寺廟或傳統民宅。
交阯陶在釉色上、風格上都獨具一格，與宋朝的汝、哥、鈞、定窯、元、明時期的青花瓷器、清朝的洋彩瓷器等陶瓷截然不同。交趾陶這種多彩陶藝源自於唐三彩，自唐、宋起在中國嶺南地區流行，並於明、清時期受到景德鎮釉上彩以及西洋傳入的琺瑯彩所影響。 其後交趾陶被嶺南移民傳入台灣中南部，從此演變成今天所見的多彩交趾陶。
有人說交阯陶奪目的釉色太俗艷，缺乏優雅的美感，但筆者覺得其實不然。雖然的確存在著相當刺目的交阯陶，可是也有完全相反的例子，其中無論是造型、釉色之美、釉面開片紋理之意趣或裝飾技法，交阯陶在許多人的心目中與其說是民間匠技不如說足以視為一種藝術。
照片中的作品為鶯歌交阯陶陶藝家吳良斌製作的。
（台北時報記者古德謙整理）
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