Abstract

A Changsha export ceramic dish recovered from the Belitung shipwreck depicts a makara swallowing an Arab vessel. This motif can be traced to the Indian narrative tradition of the “Five Hundred Merchants at Sea.” With the spread of Buddhism, relevant texts gradually developed into a narrative structure of “setting sail – encountering peril – invoking a sacred name – deliverance.” In Chinese translations, the devouring creature came to be identified with the makara and functioned as a visual signifier of maritime danger, frequently appearing in themes such as “Guanyin Rescuing from Maritime Peril”, the Kalyāṇakārin Jātaka and the Araṇemi Jātaka. With the expansion of maritime trade along the Silk Road, the motif moved beyond strictly religious contexts and entered commercial craft production. Its incorporation into Changsha export ceramics reflects both cross-cultural transmission across the Indian Ocean world and the growing responsiveness of ceramic production to market demand. The juxtaposition of a conventionally rendered makara and a comparatively naturalistic Arab vessel on the dish reveals the coexistence of inherited religious symbolism and emerging commercial and cross-cultural dynamics in early premodern China.

Speaker Bio

Wanni Wu is a Ph.D. candidate in Chinese Art History at Peking University and a visiting student at the Harvard FAS CAMLab (2025-2026). Her research interests include Buddhist art in middle-period China and cross-cultural artistic exchanges along the Silk Road.

Event Information

• Free and open to the public
• March 27th (Friday)
• 12:00 – 1:30 PM ET
• This is an in-person event.

Please note

Advanced RSVP required.
The event will be conducted in English.