Page 144 - The colours of each piece: production and consumption of Chinese enamelled porcelain, c.1728-c.1780
P. 144
CHAPTER 3 Enamelled Porcelain Consumption in Eighteenth-century China
The expansion of such consumption resulted in increased distribution centres in
the eighteenth century. Cities in the lower Yangzi river area became the main area of
enamelled porcelain supply. In the painting Gusufanhua (Prosperous Suzhou 姑苏繁
62
华图) mentioned above, there were seven porcelain shops.
Figure 3-8 Detail of painting Prosperous Suzhou depicting porcelain manufacture’s
advertisement.
Source: Chen Jingsha, A Masterpiece of Chinese Genre Painting: Suzhou’s Golden Age
(UK: CYPI Press, 2014), p.94.
It was common for either men or women to commission new decorative objects
or to collect them in this period, just as they did paintings and calligraphies. Studio
62 I have observed seven porcelain shops in the city depicted in the painting; however, shops
depicting in the painting were not yet a subject matter for scholars at this time. For this reason, I
am unable to find other research on how many porcelain shops are actually depicted.
128
