Page 146 - The colours of each piece: production and consumption of Chinese enamelled porcelain, c.1728-c.1780

CHAPTER 3 Enamelled Porcelain Consumption in Eighteenth-century China

and official, Yuan Mei’s lifestyle and his perception on enamelled porcelain

represents the contemporary perception towards enamelled porcelain. He and many

other consumers would buy or commission customised enamelled porcelain for

banquet or for daily use, as shown in a painting from the third quarter of the eighteenth

century. (Figure 3-9)

With a view to situating enamelled porcelain in the more historicized context of

the eighteenth century China, the above section demonstrates enamelled porcelain

consumption beyond the court. This discussion reveals how enamelled porcelain was

perceived through time. The changing landscape of enamelled porcelain consumption

and perception provides us with a dynamic that has not yet been explored, yet is

crucial to the study of Chinese porcelain. The next section shows how enamelled

porcelain was sold and the network of internal porcelain trade of eighteenth-century

China.

Figure 3-9 Palace scenes with figures with details of a pair of enamelled porcelain.
Third Quarter of the eighteenth Century. Anonymous painter, ink and colour on silk,
dimension: 40 x 37 cm.
Photo Courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

130