Page 281 - Vol_2_Archaeology of Manila Galleon Seaport Trade

15 A Study of the Chinese Influence on Mexican Ceramics 255

during the eighteenth century it also stopped at Monterrey, California on its way to
Acapulco (Schurz 1985: 299; Carrera Stampa 1953: 330). Every year, the arrival of
the Manila Galleon was followed by a fair that lasted between twenty days and two
months, usually during January and February. Merchants from all parts of the
viceroyalty congregated at this fair to buy the products brought by the galleon.
From Acapulco, the products were taken on the backs of mules and donkeys to the
port of Veracruz, where they would be shipped to Spain (Carrera Stampa 1953:
330). As they travelled from Acapulco to Veracruz, on their way to Spain, many of
these products remained in the cities and towns located on the route, providing the
elite with luxury goods that were to influence the local crafts (Carswell 2000: 142;
Connors McQuade 1999: 91; Pleguezuelo 2007: 31).
Of the different products that crossed the Paci!c Ocean from Asia to New Spain,
porcelain stands out because of its long-lasting impact on the colonial ceramic
industry. Porcelain, with its hard translucent body, had fascinated the Middle East
and Europe for centuries, inspiring innovations such as the development of tin
glazes that provided the earthenware vessels with an opaque white surface (Fournier
1990: 130; Gavin 2003: 2). A strong tradition of tin-glazed pottery, also known as
majolica, developed in Spain during the eight hundred years of Muslim occupation,
and was imported to the Americas, both as a product and as a technology, early in
the colonial period (Gavin 2003: 6). The majolica of New Spain was deeply
influenced by the porcelain brought in the Manila Galleons and this influence
became so ingrained into the local technology that it can still be seen in the majolica
produced in Mexico today.

15.3 Chinese Porcelain in New Spain

The type of porcelain that was most abundantly imported into colonial Mexico was
the Blue on White porcelain produced during the reign of Wan-Li (1573–1620) at
the end of the Ming dynasty, the transition period (1620–1683), and the !rst half of
the Qing dynasty, under the reign of K’ang-hsi (1666–1722) (Fournier 1990: 269;
Lister and Lister 2001: 83). While Blue on White porcelain predominates, other
varieties have also been found in archaeological excavations in Mexico (e.g.,
Corona Paredes et al. 2000; Fournier 1990, 1997; Fournier and Bracamontes 2010;
Gómez Sera!n 1994; González Rul 1988; Junco and Fournier 2008; Martínez
Olvera 2016; Reynoso Ramos 2004; Terreros and Morales 2011), including export
porcelain of the famille vert, famille rose, and famille noir, porcelain in Japanese
Imari style, as well as armorial porcelain or Chine de Commande depicting the coat
of arms of a family, historical scenes, or religious emblems (Fournier 1990: 159).
Two types of blue on white export porcelain made their way to New Spain
during the Colonial period, Kraak and Zhangzhou wares (Junco and Fournier 2008:
12–13), the last one formerly known as Swatow porcelain (Canepa 2006; Tan
2007). Kraak porcelain, which was made in the late Ming Dynasty and until around
1640 at provincial kilns in Jingdezhen, was preferred by Portuguese and Dutch