Page 157 - A Re-examination of Late Qing Dynasty Porcelain, 1850-1920 THESIS

British collecting into the modern era. Museums today display massive amounts of

porcelain rather than displaying objects selectively. In such cases, viewers still

experience porcelain in a similar manner to the collecting and displaying styles associated

with individuals like Mary II. The desire to collect porcelain feeds into the notion that

porcelain embodies the “exotic.” The idea of the exotic was frequently found in

association with the Far East, because it was a widely unknown and mysterious region.

Few Europeans had traveled to China, and stories of the culture became easily

exaggerated. China’s ability to maintain a global market and export expensive porcelain

wares allowed material culture to transform porcelain into a representation of riches.

With the rise of royal interest in porcelain collecting, the concept began to spread

widely throughout Britain. The expansion of the global porcelain market led to Europe

demanding more access to Chinese porcelain. Despite the desire for more availability,

China confined European trade to Guangzhou until 1842. 196 Guangzhou became a center

for the export market and experienced a great deal of cultural exchange as a result of this

exposure. While Guangzhou thrived as a center for trade, Britain worked to gain a better

understanding of porcelain production. Individuals began to try to create porcelain

themselves in an effort to join the growing porcelain market. Despite attempts to create

porcelain, Britain lacked the raw materials and technological knowledge to successfully

execute porcelain. Watercolors like Unloading the Kiln, dating to approximately 1770–

1790, offered Westerners a glimpse into kiln production (Figure 54). This watercolor

196 Guangzhou(广州) is also referred to as Canton. It is the capital of Guangdong province in the
south of China. Guangzhou served as a major maritime port dispersing both tea and porcelain. In
the Qianlong era and the decades leading up to the Opium War (1840-1842), the Chinese court
restricted foreign trade to Guangzhou. Foreign trade was expanded with the Treaty of Nanking in
1842 allowing broader western access.

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