Page 58 - Export Porcelain and Globakization- GOOD READ

in 1796, soon after the EIC ceased the official import of Chinese ceramics as a
consequence of the high duties imposed by the British Government.
Porcelain and porcelaneous ware replaced the tin glazed terracotta in the course of
the 18th century, but the history of copying Chinese and Japanese designs continued.
Chinese blue and white porcelain was copied and newly interpreted by Meissen,
Vienna, Rauenstein, Worcester, Caughley, Royal Copenhagen etc. – the so-called
“Zwiebelmuster” (blue onion: plate 228) and the “Strohblume” (“blue fluted” décor or
“Musselmalet” in Danish: plate 232) were typical China-inspired blue and white
decorations and one of the most common coffee or dining service styles in Germany
and Scandinavia until the mid-20th century.
The biggest variety of imitations and pseudo-Chinese ceramics can be found in the
UK. Already a major destination for Chinese porcelain in the 18th century, many
British porcelain manufacturers started to imitate Chinese blue and white décor. To
replace broken items from China may have been the initial reason. Millions of pieces
were shipped from Canton to the ports of Great Britain by the EIC. However, with the
discovery of the necessary raw material and the techniques of producing porcelain or
porcelaneous ware, the import of Chinese porcelain declined at the end of the 18th
century. The EIC ceased to order Chinese porcelain in 1791 100 . Only private trade
continued. This was a protective measure for the local British ceramic industry which
was able to substitute imported goods step by step.
Producers from London, Liverpool, Lowestoft and the Midlands of England were
excellent imitators and it is today sometimes difficult at first sight to distinguish
Chinese from British blue and white or British Famille Rose porcelain (see plate 242
and 263). Chinoiserie even became a mass production when Wedgewood developed
the cheap pearlware ceramics with underglaze transfer prints (plate 238). Pearlware
has a slightly blue shining glaze which is applied on a kind of low fired bright
earthenware. Since it has a transparent glaze it can be painted blue under the glaze and
even can make use of underglaze blue transfer prints. Pearlware with printed décor of
Chinese river scenes and other landscapes became very famous in the UK in the 19th
century. The Spode factories from Staffordshire developed various standard Chinese
patterns such as the “Willow” and the “two temple” pattern applied by transfer prints
to the shard (plate 239). Similar patterns can be found on Chinese export ceramics of
the second half of the 18th century but it is somehow unclear whether the Chinese
reproduced some dream landscapes according to European wishes or European
producers have imitated what has been shipped from Canton (plate 236). This is a
somewhat funny story of generating joint Eurasian designs where at the end nobody
knows who the actual originator was. Table 4 shows the most famous European 17th
and 18th century producers of blue and white ceramic with Asian influences or in the
chinoiserie style.
Table 4: Early European producers of blue and white ceramics

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