Page 17 - The colours of each piece: production and consumption of Chinese enamelled porcelain, c.1728-c.1780
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CHAPTER 1. Introduction
During the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, a significant technological
innovation took place in Chinese porcelain production. The application of glass-based
pigment to the glaze of porcelain was introduced to the Qing court by European
1
missionaries. Under the direct supervision of the Qing emperor, the technique of
producing and using enamel colours soon developed and transferred to other
manufactures. The innovation of applying new enamel colours to porcelain only took
place within a short period and was to dominate all porcelain consumption in the later
period, both in China and beyond. This change has had a significant impact on Chinese
porcelain production and domestic consumption, as well as the export trade.
Existing scholarship, however, remains silent on the impact of this technological
innovation and its wide-reaching consequences. The research presented in this thesis
thus aims to offer an historical and contextualized perspective on this major
innovation in the process of enamelled porcelain production, and to explore aspects
related to the production of enamelled porcelain, its domestic consumption and the
export trade. This thesis first investigates the transmission of enamels from the court
to Jingdezhen and painting techniques in different sites of porcelain production. It
discusses how new techniques were integrated into the local production processes
within the Qing Empire. Secondly, it explores the place of enamelled porcelain in
1 It is to note that Enamels as colourants were already used in glass and Chinese cloisonnéenamelling
on metal from the fifteenth century. But it was the introduction of new enamel colours from the West
that led to the technological innovation in porcelain production in China. See, Shi Jingfei, Riyue
Guanghua, Qinggong huafalang [Radiant Luminance: The Painted Enamelware of the Qing Imperial
Court] (Taipei: The National Palace Museum, 2012), pp.18-26.
1
