Page 158 - A Re-examination of Late Qing Dynasty Porcelain, 1850-1920 THESIS

depiction showcases workers removing fired wares from several kilns. Originally, the

watercolor was part of a set of 24, with each revealing a different aspect of the porcelain

production process. The desire to produce porcelain spread across the Western world. A

comparable set of watercolors was examined at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem,

Massachusetts. This set included only thirteen watercolors that surveyed the porcelain

production process. The similarities between these watercolors indicates that both

watercolor sets drew inspiration from the earlier writings of Tang Ying. These

watercolors appealed to the Western trade market, and individuals purchased them to

study and attempt to uncover the secrets of Chinese porcelain production. 197

Unfortunately, the watercolors idealized the creation of porcelain and disclosed few of

the actual requirements of the successful production method.

Despite the lack of both materials and knowledge, European potters still

attempted to create blue-and-white porcelain. Although many of these attempts appear

visually similar to the originals, under close inspection, they differ greatly. One

successful imitation ware was produced by Delft (Figure 55). Dating to approximately

1704, this blue-and-white dish depicts a country landscape encircled by a floral scroll

border. While the style of the Delft dish is quite similar to the export blue-and-white

wares that this study investigates, it is entirely composed of tin-glazed earthenware rather

than porcelain. This distinction means that the Delft plate visually captures the allure of

Chinese porcelain but lacks the durability. After years of imitating Chinese porcelain, in

1709 Johann Friedrich Böttger (1682-1719) was the first Westerner to successfully create

197 Ellen Huang, “From the Imperial Court to the International Art Market: Jingdezhen Porcelain
Production as Global Visual Culture,” Journal of World History 23, no. 1 (2012): 115–45. The
depiction of porcelain production would evolve beyond watercolors and become a decorative
th
motif found on porcelain during the 19 century.
119