Page 241 - 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

understanding of this trade, stylistic changes of Chinese enamelled porcelain may also

be better explained.

6.7. Canton became a Site of Production

Some porcelain dealers’ trading histories have been explored by Paul A. Van Dyke;

however, because his focus is on the scale of their business, we do not get detailed

insights into the porcelain itself, such as who was involved in the manufacture, and

the nature of the difference of trade pattern in previous times when enamelled

porcelain was totally produced in Jingdezhen, and the period after 1760s, when

Canton had its own manufacture. Van Dyke managed to provide porcelain dealer’s

successes and failures and attempted to explain it politically. However, for porcelain

dealers in the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century, a major part of

their success was probably because of their manufacture.

Some porcelain dealers saw the potential of markets to produce enamelled

porcelain, and then raised capital to finance both production and distribution. They

seized the opportunities afforded by the new techniques. The most common ‘China

ware’ in great demand was blue and white, and enamelled wares. If a porcelain dealer

of the late 1750s and early 1760s wished to set up his own manufacture, it would be

profitable to produce these two types of porcelain. Of course, the manufacture of

porcelain required specialist facilities and equipment and techniques. For blue and

white type of porcelain, it would be too difficult to set a local manufacture because of

the required kiln temperature. The cobalt oxide and the layer of translucent glaze

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