Chinese export porcelain has a special kind of magic for collectors. It is beautiful, yes—but it is also evidence of movement: ships crossing oceans, merchants negotiating in unfamiliar ports, dining habits changing in European and American homes, and Chinese artisans adapting their work for buyers they would likely never meet.
Before porcelain became common on Western tables, it was a luxury object. It was admired for qualities that seemed almost impossible: a hard, white body; a smooth glaze; fine painted decoration; and a delicacy that still managed to be durable. To European buyers, Chinese porcelain was unlike the earthenware and stoneware they already knew. It looked refined, exotic, and technically astonishing.
This first post in our Chinese Export Porcelain series looks at the early trade—how porcelain moved from China into Western markets, why it became so desirable, and what collectors can look for when studying early export pieces.
Continue reading “The Early Trade-Porcelain for the Western World”