Page 30 - Met Museum Export Porcelain 2003
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32. Plate.Chinese(Englishmarket)c, a.i739-43.Hardpaste.Diam.9 in. privatetrade, which might be presumed to
(22.9 cm). HelenaWoolworthMcCannCollection,PurchaseG, ift of Winfield mirrorWestern artistic conventions, is elusive,
Foundation, by exchange, 1978(1978.196) there being surprisingly few exact correspon-
dences between export forms and decora-
Apatternfor thisplatesurvivest,heonlycompletdeesignfor anarmoriaslervicetobe tions and European prototypes. This invites
recordeIdt.wasmadeforLeakeOkeoverw, hosearmsareimpaledwiththoseofhis attention to the origins of designs, how they
wife,MaryNichol;theirconjoinemd onogramL,MO,appearisn cartouchoesnthe were conveyed, and whether Chinese painters
rim. Theservicewas shippedfromCantonin two installmentsin I74o and I743. played any role in the interpretationof
Invoicesreferonlytoplatesanddishesa, ndthislimitationt,ogethewr iththerichness Western style. Documentation of the private
ofthedecorationsu, ggesttshattheywereintendedmorefordisplaythanforuse. trade is almost entirely lacking;that of the
bulktrade is still quite one-sided. There are
Theunattributeddesignis identifiedonthereversaesa "Patterfnor China"c;lumsily, important gaps in the English East India
howeveri,t ispaintedonbuff-tonedpapesro,thatthewhiteflowerisn thedrawing Company records between 1705 and 1711
hadtobecoloredin theporcelaintobeefectiveonthewhiteground and again between 1754 and 1774, and those
of the Swedish company were regularly
destroyed after triennial audits. Only the
records of the VOC,which are extensive, have
been systematically explored, and they pre-
sumably reflect the practices of its competi-
tors as well. Fromthem we find that from
about 1634 to at least 1793 the VOCconsis-
tently provided examples of desired shapes,
either in the form of three-dimensionalsamples
and models or, after 1729, as drawings sent
out each season to be reproduced in porcelain:
usefulness was the primarygoal.
Of what must have been thousands of
drawings (they were supplied in duplicate)
only seven sheets from a single season, 1758,
survive, depicting designs for tea and milk
pots, fish dishes, cups and tureens, vases and
cuspidors. Such drawings were part of the
VOC'sannual "Requirements"and accompa-
nied written instructions, which survive and
are more than guides to the conservative
managerial practices of an East Indiacom-
pany; absent porcelains that are (rarely)dated
or are datable by circumstance of underwater
archaeology or heraldic specificity, these
"Requirements"provide an essential insight
into the seasonal changes in Europeantaste.
As to decoration, VOCrecords indicate that
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