Page 284 - Vol_2_Archaeology of Manila Galleon Seaport Trade

258 K. Castillo and P. Fournier

way of covering a surface that involves motifs and rhythm placed within a limit or
frame (Hay 2016: 62); in the case of ceramics the limit or frame is imposed by the
shape of the vessel. This de!nition of ornament emphasizes the fact that ornament
does not refer solely to decorative motifs but instead to the whole surface, which
plays a particularly important role in ceramics. Colonial potters were deeply
inspired by the aesthetic qualities of porcelain. Its smooth and shiny surface,
covered with a myriad of exciting ornamental motifs organized in unique harmo-
nious ways, fascinated both vice regal potters and consumers. The potters of New
Spain did not have the raw materials needed to try to replicate the kaolinitic white
ceramic body that European potters were actively attempting to reproduce (Finlay
1998: 174–175); but the !neness of porcelain vessels did inspire them to make
thinner vessels and improve the opaque white glaze by incrementing the amount of
tin used to achieve a similar sleek surface (Pirouz-Moussavi 2009: 143). However,
they did not attempt to reproduce the soft bluish-white hue that characterizes
Chinese porcelain (Lister and Lister 2001: 84).
In terms of compositional design, colonial potters actively adopted the way in
which decorative patterns are arranged into different panels (Fig. 15.2), the exterior
designs on bowls, as well as the diametrical lines or bands which are commonly
seen in dishes and bowls of blue on white porcelain from the Ming and Qing
dynasties (Fournier 2001: 55). Interestingly, paneled border decoration may have its
origin in Persian metalwork and ceramics, which influenced the Chinese porcelain
catered to Middle Eastern customers during the Yuan dynasty (Canepa 2008: 31).
The potters of New Spain also adopted the compositional resource known as cloud
contour. In Chinese porcelain, this traditional framing device normally appears on
the shoulder of jars in sets of four placed at right-angles to each other, though the
number can vary (Macintosh 1986: 160), but colonial potters adopted it in a more
flexible manner. In the majolica of New Spain cloud contours can be extremely

Fig. 15.2 Composition in panels. a Mexican majolica (Juárez 70, Mexico City); b Chinese
porcelain (Juárez 70, Mexico City)