colour scheme
Export Ware
Chinese ceramics can be divided into those made for the Imperial Court and those made for export. As will be seen in the catalogue much of the collection is export ware, ceramics that have been made specifically in this case for the western market.
The export market boomed from the late 17th century onwards, when trade with foreigners was liberalised (1684) and the Co-Hong system in Guangzhou (Canton) was established.
The Hongs were trading stations flanking the Pearl river, where trading nations of the time (such as Dutch, British, French, & Danes) were allowed their own station, and could purchase ceramics as they wished (McElney 2006:37).
Ceramics formed only a partial amount of the export market to England. As noted by Sheaf, ‘Porcelain represented an element within a cargo that could be assembled quickly in Canton; was not wildly subject to vagaries of taste in Europe, did not deteriorate when wet; and enabled an empty ship moored at Whampoa, to be loaded quickly with a hold flooring of heavy goods, while negotiations took place at Canton for the more important categories of a return cargo.......thus it was the European demand for tea which came to dominate the whole eighteenth century overseas trade with China (1988:88).
Due to the nature of the ceramic material ‘common porcelain in underglaze blue and white was often used as a ballast of sailing vessels, since it was not subject to damage from sloshing in the holds' (Nadler 2001, Chp2).
Although imperial ceramics dating to the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) have a high profile, export ceramics dating to the same period have not, and therefore research is very much in its infancy. Over recent years auction houses have funded diving expeditions of shipwrecks laden with ceramics for export such as the Geldermalsen (1752) the Diana (1817) and the Tek Sing (1822).
This in turn has provided time capsules of whole cargoes of porcelain destined for the west, revealing patterns and forms fashionable for the time. Export ceramics are interesting because ‘mutual influences between European and Chinese decorations compose the single most important theme underlying Chinese export porcelain. It is neither Chinese, nor truly Western. It is a Chinese endeavour to meet perceived foreign tastes...it is this slight naivete, combined with bravura handicraft that makes it so appealing' (Nadler 2001:Chp.1).
A bowl decorated in underglaze blue and white depicting a house on an outcrop with the ‘Three Friends of Winter'
