Page 216 - The colours of each piece: production and consumption of Chinese enamelled porcelain, c.1728-c.1780

CHAPTER 6 A New Context of Porcelain Trade 1760-1770

activities. He has listed each of the prominent porcelain dealer’s trade history with

East India Companies chronologically. This volume of research has followed his

previous studies on Canton trade and merchants, in which he attempted to show what

has actually happened along with the trade. The study on porcelain dealers thus

resulted in a study of general trading history. Questions about how it was possible for

the shift of production took place remains unanswered.

My research continues to explore a more detailed historical context. If we look at

it in a general picture, it is to ask, what exactly happened to porcelain trade. What

factors have influenced porcelain dealers? What porcelain dealers’ trading activities

affected the trade? Such questions are particularly crucial to an understanding of

Chinese export porcelain trade and the understanding of enamelled porcelain trade.

Answers to these questions can help us to understand why the shift of manufacture

took place at this particular time, and the consequences of such a shift. In order to

address each change clearly, a contextualised and chronological approach is needed.

6.1. Relation between Hong merchants and non-Hong merchant

Porcelain Dealers

The porcelain trade was carried out by a group of dealers who were not Hong

merchants. In my own archival research of EEIC’s records, I have found that most of

the porcelain dealers were not Hong merchants throughout the eighteenth century. It

seems that minor trades such as the porcelain trade was not influenced very much by

the Hong merchants. However, in the mid-eighteenth century, the link between Hong

merchants and porcelain dealers was much more visible than in the previous period.

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