Page 283 - Vol_2_Archaeology of Manila Galleon Seaport Trade

15 A Study of the Chinese Influence on Mexican Ceramics 257

15.5 Chinese Influence on Colonial Mexican Ceramics

The porcelain that arrived to New Spain in the Manila Galleons became a pre-
dominant model for colonial potters, particularly for those in the city of Puebla
(Gavin 2003: 9), where the potters’ guild established in their ordinances that the
!nest grade of ceramics should be done in imitation to Chinese porcelain
(Cervantes 1939: 29). In 1630, the Jesuit Bernabé Cobo reported that around this
time the potters in Puebla were making majolica imitations of Chinese porcelain
with designs that closely resembled Asian wares (Connors McQuade 2005: 110).
Chinese influence can be seen in the adoption of oriental shapes, in the preference
for blue on white decoration, as well as in the abundance of Chinese motifs that
begin to permeate colonial majolica (Ruiz Gutiérrez 2010: 336). The ceramic type
that best reflects the influence of Chinese porcelain is that known as Puebla Blue on
White, which has been dated between 1700 and 1850. This ceramic type is char-
acterized by its blue on white decoration, sometimes using two different shades of
blue, depicting a variety of ornamental designs which include many
Chinese-inspired motifs and designs (Deagan 1987: 29; Goggin 1968: 194; Müller
1981: 10, 24).
Of the vessel shapes that were copied from Chinese porcelain, those that pre-
dominate in majolica include the Chinese cup, which became known in Mexico as
pozuelo or pocillo (Fig. 15.1a); the hemispherical bowl with a foot ring, called
tazón in Spanish (Fig. 15.1b); the pear-shaped bottle (Fig. 15.1c); and the meiping
vase or tibor (Fig. 15.1d), which was often made in very large sizes and was used
both as container and decorative vessel (Kuwayama 1997: 25; Slack 2012: 121).
While the popularity of the cup or pozuelo and the pear-shaped bottle declined after
the colonial period, the hemispherical bowl and the meiping vase/tibor have
remained some of the most common Mexican majolica shapes and are still popular
today.
However, it is in the ornament of the vessels that Chinese influence is more
readily evident. The word ornament is used by art historians to refer to a particular

Fig. 15.1 Primary vessel shapes copied from Chinese porcelain in New Spain. a Cup, pozuelo,
orpocillo; b bowl or tazón; c pear-shaped bottle; d meiping vase or tibor. Adapted from Macintosh
(1986: 12–13)