Page 56 - Chinese Export Porcelain Art, MET MUSEUM 2003

After 1785 pride of ownership played a
great role in consumer taste for porcelain
from China, and there was increased inter-
est in personalization of the wares. The
ordering of specialized pieces was facili-
tated by Americans who now had easier
access to Chinese traders, and shields and
swags, suggesting an armorial design and
typically enclosing a family's initials, suited

the pretensions of a newly prosperous mer-
chant class. Personal initials alone soon
replaced armorials and pseudo-armorials.
The young republic's history also pro-
vided lucrative subject matter for Chinese
artists. Among export porcelains were
those with references to America's emblems
and heroes. Following the 1787 signing of
the Constitution, there was an enormous
outpouring of affection for the country's
forefathers, which gave rise to the depiction
of patriotic motifs on objects of many media,
of both European and domestic fabrication.
The new sentiment also influenced ships'
agents and merchants stationed in Canton,
leading to commissions for myriads of
household goods adorned with, among

other patriotic motifs, portraits of George
60. Pater Patriae (memorial to George Washington). Chinese (American mar-
Washington (fig. 56), Benjamin Franklin,
ket), ca. I8oo-I818. After an engraving by Enoch G. Gridley, from a painting
and John Adams. Icons such as the eagle
by John Coles Jr. Reverse painting on glass. 4I/4 x io/4 in. (36.2 x 26 cm).
(fig. 57), the flag, and the Great Seal of the Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, I964 (64.309.6)
United States also found a ready market.
An unusual service presented to Martha
Washington in 1796 cleverly displays themes
of the new republic (fig. 58). George Wash-
ington's death in 1799 brought not only a
period of mourning across the country but
also a flood of portraits in various media,
and even images of his tomb (fig. 59).
There is little evidence of the process by
which designs were transmitted to the
Chinese artists. Presumably, supercargoes
and merchants brought drawings or prints

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