A Comparative Archaeometric Study on 13th-Century Melon-Shaped Ceramic Buddhist Shrines: From Cizhou Painted Ware to the Imperial Longquan Biscuit-Guanyin Fokan (SG-YC-101)

This research monograph presents a comprehensive comparative archaeometric, pyrotechnological, and sociopolitical investigation into an exceptionally rare typological genre of 13th-century Chinese ceramics: the hollow, melon-shaped portable Buddhist shrine (Fokan, 佛龕). Grounding the empirical benchmark upon the renowned Cizhou painted melon-shaped shrine sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong (Autumn Auction, 9 October 2023, Lot 3650; height 21.7 cm, realized RMB 2,212,238 / HKD 2,413,000), this study examines the technological and material divergence between northern regional stoneware kilns and the southern elite celadon traditions. In particular, we analyze a supreme masterwork preserved in the Sigong Collection: A Southern Song Longquan celadon melon-shaped shrine featuring carved scrolling foliage and a biscuit-fired Guanyin (SG-YC-101; height 14.6 cm, diameter 12.4 cm, weight 719 g). Through rigorous examination of high-temperature reduction firing dynamics (exceeding 1,300 degrees Celsius), thermal shrinkage differentials (15-18 percent), and the deliberate technological synthesis of thick iron-calcium Fenqing (粉靑) glaze displaying a texture surpassing natural mutton-fat nephrite jade with unglazed oxidized stoneware (Loutai, 露胎), we establish that SG-YC-101 represents an absolute triumph over extreme structural collapse risks. Furthermore, contextualizing the dimensional disparity (the 21.7 cm fixed tabletop Cizhou shrine versus the 14.6 cm handheld Longquan shrine), this paper posits that while northern Cizhou shrines served regional merchant elites as static domestic altars, the exquisite Longquan celadon shrine functioned as an intimate, portable devotional sanctuary designed for the personal bedchamber and state desk of the Southern Song Emperor facing geopolitical ruin.