JAPANESE CERAMICS IN THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF MALAYSIA: A HISTORICAL OVERVIEW (SERAMIK JEPUN DI MUZIUM NEGARA MALAYSIA: TINJAUAN SEJARAH)
Abstract
Abstract
This study offers a historical overview of Japanese ceramics within the collection of the National Museum of Malaysia, highlighting their unique cultural and historical significance in contrast to the more extensively studied Chinese ceramics. Drawing upon archival research, interviews with museum curators, and existing literature, the research reveals that Japanese ceramics in Malaysia are relatively rare and often linked to colonial-era acquisitions rather than direct historical trade between Japan and the Malay Peninsula. The study contextualizes the presence of these ceramics within the broader framework of maritime trade networks in East and Southeast Asia, particularly during the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, when political shifts such as the Ming Dynasty’s trade bans enabled Japan’s emergence as a key ceramic exporter. Furthermore, the research discusses how colonial collecting practices and knowledge production influenced the acquisition and interpretation of Japanese ceramics in Malaysian museums. This overview contributes to filling the scholarly gap on Japanese ceramics in Malaysia and invites further study into their historical trajectories and cultural meanings within Southeast Asian contexts.
Keywords: Japanese ceramics, National Museum of Malaysia, Southeast Asian maritime trade, colonial collection, material history, cultural heritage
Abstrak
Kajian ini menunjukkan gambaran keseluruhan sejarah seramik Jepun dalam koleksi Muzium Negara Malaysia, menonjolkan kepentingan budaya dan sejarahnya yang unik berbeza dengan seramik Cina yang dikaji secara lebih meluas. Berdasarkan penyelidikan arkib, temu bual dengan kurator muzium dan penulisan sedia ada, makalah ini mendedahkan bahawa seramik Jepun di Malaysia agak jarang dan sering dikaitkan dengan pemerolehan era kolonial dan bukannya perdagangan sejarah langsung antara Jepun dan Semenanjung Tanah Melayu. Makalah ini mengkontekstualisasikan kehadiran seramik dalam rangka kerja rangkaian perdagangan maritim yang lebih luas di Asia Timur dan Asia Tenggara, khususnya pada abad ke-17 hingga ke-19, apabila peralihan politik seperti larangan perdagangan Dinasti Ming membolehkan kemunculan Jepun sebagai pengeksport seramik utama. Tambahan lagi, makalah ini membincangkan bagaimana amalan pengumpulan era kolonial dan penghasilan pengetahuan mempengaruhi pemerolehan dan tafsiran seramik Jepun di muzium Malaysia. Gambaran keseluruhan ini menyumbang kepada mengisi jurang ilmiah mengenai seramik Jepun di Malaysia dan membuka kajian lanjut mengenai garis masa sejarah dan makna budayanya dalam konteks Asia Tenggara.
Kata kunci: Seramik Jepun, Muzium Negara Malaysia, perdagangan maritime Asia Tenggara, koleksi penjajahan, sejarah material, warisan kebudayaan
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Informants
Asyaari Muhammad, Associate Professor, researcher, and member of the Expert Committee on Archaeological and Underwater Cultural Heritage Sites, Institute of the Malay World and Civilization (ATMA), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Azlina Ariffin, Officer and Curator, Department of Museums Malaysia.
Baszley Bee, archaeologist and underwater cultural heritage expert, Lecturer, Department of History, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Malaysia Sabah.
Yoko Taniguchi, Professor and archaeologist, University of Tsukuba, Japan.
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IKATAN AHLI ARKEOLOGI MALAYSIA
d/a Institut Alam dan Tamadun Melayu
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Tel: +60 3 8921 5280