chinese trade porcelain
Gallery 3 - European and American Art
Made in China. Designed for the World.
Look closely at the emblems in this case. One eagle carries the American motto E Pluribus Unum. Another has two heads and the Latin words Qvinqve Corona—“Five Crowns.” Nearby, three golden fleurs-de-lis beneath a crown evoke Bourbon France.
These symbols reveal the central idea behind Chinese export porcelain. Customers thousands of miles away could send a coat of arms, monogram, patriotic emblem, or other design to China and have it translated into porcelain.
The porcelain bodies were generally produced at Jingdezhen, China’s great ceramic center. Merchants then carried them south toward Canton, where orders were assembled and some wares received their final enamel decoration. Finished pieces traveled outward aboard the same trading ships that carried tea, silk, lacquer, paintings, and other luxuries.
Porcelain was frequently packed low in a ship, where its weight could serve as ballast and its resistance to water offered an advantage over more vulnerable cargo.
The designs displayed here preserve that remarkable exchange, although the dates and makers of the Waikoloa objects themselves still require confirmation.
Don't have a tablet? Click or tap here.
.png "image title")
