Page 15 - Kraak Porcelain, Jorge Welsh

matters and this is an opportunity to discuss briefly this subject. Condition is important
and should always be the best possible in every instance, however an exception should be
made for the very rare or exceptional pieces. In these cases condition plays a much lesser
role for both their relevance and their value, the focus becoming the importance and
beauty of the piece in question. In this exhibition we have included purposely such an
example. Entry number , the dish painted with the two figures of Persian women. Not
only is it painted with a rare motif, it has the most exceptional painting found in any of the
few similarly decorated dishes recorded. It is damaged but nonetheless a gem and much
more important and desirable than many other dishes in good condition. This debate is
important, so that due attention is given to some of the rarest, more important, and best
quality pieces of Chinese porcelain that, at times in the past, were discarded because of
their condition, in place of lesser examples.

The making of this exhibition and catalogue has been a great experience as well as a
learning one, for all of us involved in this project. We hope that visitors to the exhibition
will find it interesting and enjoyable and that the catalogue will contribute to further the
understanding of kraak porcelain.

Luísa Vinhais
Jorge Welsh