Chinese export porcelain

Chinese porcelain made for overseas markets, especially Europe and the Americas. Its forms and decoration often adapted Chinese production to foreign tastes and uses.

Armorial porcelain: Chinese porcelain decorated with European coats of arms, often made to order for foreign patrons. European families commissioned tableware that joined Chinese manufacture with their own heraldry.
Canton System: The Qing-era framework that restricted most Western maritime trade to Guangzhou and designated foreign merchants. It concentrated much European porcelain purchasing and export commerce around Canton.
Ming dynasty: A Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 1368 to 1644. Ming-era porcelain established styles and trade precedents that shaped later exports.
Chinese domestic porcelain: Porcelain made primarily for use within China rather than for overseas markets. Domestic wares were not shaped by the same foreign commissions and consumer preferences.
Chinese export porcelain with blue and white decoration: Chinese export porcelain decorated mainly with cobalt-blue designs beneath a transparent glaze. Blue-and-white wares became a widely exported style, prized for tableware and display.
Guangzhou Thirteen Factories: The foreign trading district in Guangzhou where licensed Chinese merchants conducted commerce with Western companies. Foreign buyers placed orders and arranged shipments through this trading enclave.
Qing dynasty: A Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 1644 to 1912. Much of the best-known European trade in Chinese export porcelain flourished under Qing rule.
Japanese export porcelain: Porcelain produced in Japan for overseas markets, especially after Chinese exports were disrupted in the seventeenth century. Japanese wares competed for buyers when Chinese supply to Europe faltered.
Chinese export porcelain with famille rose decoration: Chinese export porcelain decorated with opaque enamels, including pink, that became prominent in the eighteenth century. Its vivid palette suited European tastes for richly colored table services.
Cantonese porcelain painting: The painting of porcelain in workshops in or near Guangzhou, often using overglaze enamels. Local decorators could add motifs and details suited to foreign commissions.

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