Chinese Export Porcelain

With the upcoming sale of Elinor Gordon's collection the Economist has published a good article on Chinese export. The article discusses several items with Gordon's collection and gives some general background and a short history of Chinese export porcelain.

The article states

By the 18th century, British, Dutch, Portuguese, Swedish and American trade with China was so well established that the new wealthy merchant class it created had taken to emulating the trappings of the landed gentry, designing coats of arms and commissioning entire porcelain services on which to flaunt them. No marriage or promotion was complete without a specially made plate to commemorate it.

This upward social mobility gave rise to a new phenomenon, the manufacture of Chinese porcelain and paintings for the export market.

Two centuries on, Chinese export porcelain attracts a quite different collector from those seeking Chinese porcelain proper. Whereas all Chinese treasures—whether jade, porcelain, lacquer, bamboo or rhinoceros horn—have an aesthetic appeal that prizes rarity, delicacy and symbolism above all, export porcelain speaks to the academic collector or, less politely, the “anorak” or “train-spotter”. The form is based on Meissen or other soft-paste porcelain, but it is not really European. Nor is it particularly Chinese, although it was made there.

Instead, it is a bit of a mish-mash. It appeals to buyers who seek to complete a particular series defined by decorative patterns, special coats of arms or links between different families.

To read the full Economist article, click HERE.