Historic Treasure of the Week - September 6, 1992
By Linda R. Hardin
Vigo County Historical Society
Historic Treasure of the Week - September 6, 1992
By Linda R. Hardin
Vigo County Historical Society
"Mud men" are valuable collectibles
Why do people collect things?
I suspect many collections start with the purchase of a single item that appealed to the buyer. In my case, a little Chinese "mudman" less than one inch tall led me on a collecting frenzy of more than 25years.
Chinese "mudmen" or "mud figures" are just what the name implies--ceramic figures of traditional Chinese fishermen or other male and female characters fashioned from clay with various colored glazes applied.
The exposed portions of the body--hands, face, feet--are sealed with a clear glaze that allows the natural color of the clay to show, while the clothing and other areas are polychrome glazes in shades of green, brown, royal blue or blue green and yellow/gold.
The figures are composed of several different parts that were fitted together while the clay was moist. They are hollow and open on the bottom.
The mud figures may be standing or sitting on a black rock. They usually are holding an object such as a fish, a fan, a staff, a book, a bamboo tube, or a pipe. If two or more are together, they may be playing a board or card game or cleaning a fish. Many of the fishermen wear hats.
Mud figures often were included in oriental floral arrangements featuring bonsai trees fashioned of wood.
There also are figures of domestic animals such as ducks, that I appropriately call "mud ducks."
In addition to the "mudmen," there also are other ceramic Chinese figures. While they are similar to the mudmen in color and style, they are made of porcelain and, therefore, are more refined in appearance. They include scholars, deities, and women as well as domestic animals such as roosters, birds, and fo dogs (Chinese Buddhistic lions that guarded the Buddhist temples).
Oriental antiques are rich with symbols and motifs that give them a certain mystic quality. Oriental people have a deep and abiding love for flowers and plant life and domestic animals.
Flowers, birds, trees, domestic animals and oriental figures as well as repetitive patterns such as scrolls, waves, the thundercloud, lotus stem and blossom, the longevity sign, and the rice grain almost always are present in one or more combinations.
The deer signifies high position; the bat denotes good fortune; the lotus blossom is a symbol of purity; ducks represent conjugal happiness; the peachy represents longevity; the peony and rose are symbols of affluence; and the cockerel is the bird of fame.
The circa of the mud figures is difficult to pinpoint exactly, but based on available information, I believe they fall within the years of 1891 through the 1930s. United States law required that any pottery or porcelain exported to the United States after 1891 be marked "China" or "Made in China."
Of course, many unmarked that arrived in the United States were brought back by missionaries, businessmen and tourists as personal property. From 1949 to the late 1970s, foreign trade with China was severely limited due to Communist rule.
I have not found a great wealth of information about the mud figures, probably because they were mass produced in state-run potteries almost exclusively for export trade.
The mass production technique infers that the items were hastily made in large quantities by sem-skilled or unskilled workers and emphasis was on quantity rather than quality.
Tim Weir, a local antique dealer, suggests the mud figures might also be "cottage industry" items. These were items workers were paid to make in their homes. The finished items were delivered to a central collection point for sale or export.
Mud figures can be found at flea markets, antique shops, estate auctions, bazaars, and sometimes, year sales. However, they are not as easy to find as they were 10 or 15 years ago.
In addition to the sentimental reasons for collecting, there also is the investment factor. You can start with as little money as you can afford and if you choose and buy wisely, before long you will have a small but valuable collection that will increase in value.
The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.