Page 254 - Vol_2_Archaeology of Manila Galleon Seaport Trade

226 P. Fournier and R. Junco Sanchez

dynasty samples are also mentioned (Allende Carrera 1999; Cedillo Ortega 1998;
Hernández Sánchez and Reynoso 1999). Connors MacQuade (2005: 49) also notes
that Asian porcelains are listed in probate inventories. Nearby, in Cholula (Sáenz
Serdio 2004: 119–120), Kraak and Kangxi period porcelains were registered in
excavations.
In the case of Cuernavaca, where Hernán Cortés –conqueror of Mexico, settled
during a short period of time, the excavations at his palace and close to it, in the
downtown area, recovered 103 shards of Chinese porcelains from the late sixteenth
to the late eighteenth century (Fournier and Charlton 2011: 149). Styles include
Wanli blue on white and provincial porcelain dating to the same period. A few
fragments of late Ming wucai or kinrande vessels were identi!ed.
So far there have been a limited number of archaeologists interested in colonial
ceramics in western Mexico, and INAH has been ruled by architects who hinder
archaeological excavations. Nevertheless, in Pátzcuaro, in modern Michoacán, our
surveys at an eighteenth century residence uncovered Wanli period blue on white
shards (Fournier and Guerrero Rivero 2014: 321–322).
Historical sources provide additional information to comprehend the distribution
of Asian wares far from the capital of New Spain. About 100 km northeast of
Pátzcuaro, useful information is derived from probate inventories dating to sev-
enteenth century about a wealthy hacienda owner who died in 1688 at his residence
located in Acámbaro, a rich agricultural area; his possessions included Chinese
porcelain jars with silver ornaments, several large and expensive meiping vases, a
sumptuous bowl, a large platter, and four small Foo Dogs (worth 1 peso per piece)
“to drive away the negative powers of evil” (Curiel 2015: 112, 114, 115, 116, 119).
Some 50 km northeast of Pátzcuaro, at the city of Valladolid (modern Morelia),
historical records and inventories of all earthly possessions of a well-to-do merchant
list Chinese porcelain plates and bowls, as well as French porcelains (“Saxon
wares” a label employed in the 1700s to refer to European hard paste porcelain) and
British !ne stoneware (flintware) (e.g. Silva Mandujano 2014: 41), and interesting
assortment of goods most probably common in elegant mansions dating to the late
eighteenth to the early nineteenth century when Asian wares were slowly replaced
by European wares.
Veracruz, the port of entry of European goods and a city with unfavorable
weather as a result of the humidity and lack of fresh water, unhealthy for settlers,
was mainly a port of call, and a defensive post against pirates and foreign invasions,
a shanty town until the middle of the eighteenth century. So far, Kraak porcelain
has been identi!ed (Hernández Aranda 2017). Recent underwater archaeology
survey by the Roberto Junco at the Bajo Hornos Reef, has found 5 pieces of
porcelain including two shards of Kangxi bowls.
The fortress city of Campeche, located south of Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico
and on the southern fringe of New Spain, was a major source of tropical woods and
dye stuffs. The city was founded by the conqueror Francisco de Montejo as San
Francisco de Campeche in 1540. Qing porcelain, with no further details, was
excavated in the contemporary downtown sector (Velasquez et al. 2015b: 64, 101).
At a hacienda site, excavations uncovered a few shards of porcelain dated after