An Analysis of the Blending of Chinese and Foreign Designs from the Patterns of Export Porcelain in trade during the Ming and Qing Dynasties

Abstract

At the Exhibition of Trade Porcelain during The Ming and Qing Dynasties held by the Shanghai Museum of China, more than 160 pieces of trade export porcelain collections in the Ming and Qing Dynasties that was selected from the and Shanghai Museum were showcased, which basically covered all kinds of Chinese export porcelain during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, including tableware, tea sets, soup pots, and incense burners. The exhibition is divided into Ming Dynasty section and Qing Dynasty section according to the age of the exhibits. Among them, the Ming Dynasty section exhibited the porcelains sold to Southeast Asia, West Asia, Japan and Europe in the middle to the late Ming Dynasty, which revealed the circulation and use of Chinese porcelain in these regions during that period, as well as the preferences and aesthetics of different markets. As for the Qing Dynasty, the East India Company in the Western countries dominated the porcelain trade. These exhibits mainly focused on porcelains exported to Europe and America, most of which have a strong exotic flavor, showing the changes of trade porcelain at that time. On the one hand, it can reflect the export situation of Chinese porcelain during this period. On the other hand, in these porcelains full of exotic customs and styles, some of the patterns and production techniques with strong Chinese traditional characteristics are still partially retained, indicating the exchange and integration of Chinese and foreign cultures in porcelain art.