2011.69.454
Dish
Artist
Artist Unidentified (Chinese)
Title
Dish
Creation Date
ca. 1573-1620
Century
16th-17th century
Dimensions
11 1/2 in. (29.21 cm)
Object Type
ceramic
Creation Place
Asia, China
Medium and Support
porcelain
Credit Line
Bequest of David P. Becker, Class of 1970
Copyright
This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s
Copyright Terms and Conditions.
Accession Number
2011.69.454
During the seventeenth century, the Dutch and English expanded their trading networks into Asia. Lustrous white porcelain imported from China launched a European craze for refined tableware that often featured blue decoration. The Chinese regularly exported to the West porcelains of lesser quality that did not match what they demanded for themselves. As a result, objects warped in the firing process, a flaw seen in this dish (2011.69.454), would have been rejected by Chinese society but accepted as desirable by Westerners. This small cup (1984.52), intended for strong spirits, relates to one discarded circa 1610 in Jamestown, Virginia, North America’s first successful English settlement, and reveals the extent of the trade in and demand for precious luxury objects.
Object Description
Per Laura Laura Fecych Sprague 12/20/2010: Chinese export porcelain
