Separate collections at both private and local government-run museums have shown that Koji pottery, or items from “the Chiayi Kiln,” have moved beyond traditional platforms of expression and become pieces of art in their own right, Chiayi Department of Cultural Affairs Acting Director Jao Chia-po (饒嘉博) said.
Chiayi is the proud home of Taiwanese Koji pottery, which can be traced back to the 19th century when the works of artisan Ye Wang (葉王) were displayed at a world fair in Paris by the Japanese, Jao said.
Considered by the Japanese to be the premier Taiwanese artisan for Koji pottery, Ye was born in now-Minsyong Township (民雄) and learned his trade from his father before taking an apprenticeship under Liu Shigou (劉詩構), Jao said.
Photo: CNA
Ye took what he learned and combined it with his own ingenuity.
Koji pottery is commonly thought to have originated from the sancai (三彩) pottery prevalent in the Tang Dynasty and was adopted by local artisans after it was introduced to Taiwan during the Qing Dynasty, Jao said.
Wang Fu-yuan (王福源) said he founded a private museum for Koji pottery in Chiayi because he had found it so mesmerizing and beautiful when he first laid eyes on it when he visited the City God Temple as a child.
The Koji statuettes in temples usually represented minor heavenly court officials and functionaries attending feasts or represented festive cheer. They also symbolized the reverence paid to deities by mortals.
It was quite a disappointment that many of the statuettes, the results of friendly competition between artisans of the Chaozhou and Chuanzhou schools, were said to have been destroyed when the temple was expanded in 1980, Wang said.
However, in 1991 he discovered otherwise when he happened upon a batch of Koji pottery statuettes from the temple in a pawnshop in Chiayi County’s Dalin Township (大林).
Wang immediately sold NT$2 million (US$68,552) of stock, purchased the Koji statuettes and took them home.
After that Wang and his wife, Wei Li-chuan (魏麗嫥), began searching for other items of Koji pottery both at home and abroad, including bidding for pieces at internationally renowned auctioneers Christie’s and Sotheby’s.
In 2003, he established the Hosanna Museum to house his collection, with the statuettes from the temple dubbed the museum’s “treasures.”
The collection includes works by renowned artisans such as Ye, Ko Hsun (柯訓), Hung Kun-fun (洪坤福), Su Yang-shui (蘇陽水), Chen Chuan-yu (陳專友), Chen Tien-chi (陳天乞) and Hung Hua (洪華).
You can see the spirit and the beauty of the colors that early Taiwanese artisans employed in Koji pottery, Wang said, adding that seeing the completed works is like seeing the artisans breathing life into the pottery.
The museum also features carvings and ancient pottery pieces from China.
In addition to the Hosanna Museum, the Chiayi Koji Pottery Museum also has a wonderful Koji pottery collection, Jao said.
The collection also shows how Koji pottery developed in Taiwan, Jao said.
It continued to evolve, especially in terms of the colors used, as well as the style and technique, Jao said, adding that Lin Tien-mu (林添木) had many apprentices, most of them in Chiayi City, which became the creative hub of Taiwanese Koji pottery.
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