Page 286 - Vol_2_Archaeology of Manila Galleon Seaport Trade

260 K. Castillo and P. Fournier

Fig. 15.4 Animal designs. a Mexican majolica (details of different vessel forms); b Chinese
porcelain (San Jerónimo Convent, Mexico City)

animals in the midst of dense foliage did get copied in majolica (Curiel 1994: 207;
Lister and Lister 2001: 98).
Plants and flowers in porcelain are represented in a very precise and detailed
manner, making it possible to distinguish different varieties, each one with a very
particular meaning (Fig. 15.5b). Examples include the lotus, associated with marital
happiness and creative power; the peony, which represented affection, wealth,
femininity, and happiness; and the chrysanthemum, linked to the lunar calendar,
autumn, and joviality (Macintosh 1986: 155; Rinaldi 1989: 100). In majolica,
flowers and other plants were greatly simpli!ed when copied from porcelain
(Fig. 15.5a). Since their individual meaning was not known by colonial potters,
their details could be spared, and thus, they became generic flower motifs devoid of
the characteristics that would allow the viewer to identify speci!c species (Lister
and Lister 2001: 97, 111). Something similar happened with fruits. The peach,
representing longevity, gradually evolved in Chinese porcelain into the sunflower
motif (Macintosh 1986: 155; Rinaldi 1989: 100). When it got transferred to
majolica, it did so as a flower, rather than as a fruit.
Colonial potters also transformed certain ornamental motifs into more familiar
creatures or elements. The phoenix, a symbol of immortality, harvest, the empress,
and the warmth of the sun in Chinese porcelain (Macintosh 1986: 155), began to
resemble more and more a bird with a long tail, but it should be noted that the
convention of representing a bird in flight, as it often appears in majolica, comes
from Asia (Lister and Lister 2001: 92, 103). The crane, symbol of longevity,
loyalty, and spring in porcelain, which usually was depicted standing on a rock
(Macintosh 1986: 153), would be represented in majolica standing on or by a nopal,
a type of cactus plant that can be easily found in many parts of Mexico (Connors
McQuade 1999: 92; Lister and Lister 2001: 86, 110).