Chinese export porcelain and global spaces of imagination

This paper will examine a Chinese porcelain plate from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. The plate was produced in Jingdezhen, China ca. 1785-90 and acquired in Iran in 1888. It is painted in pink enamel with a landscape scene in the center and a double border around the edges. The landscape depicts pagoda houses interspersed with rocks, flowers, and trees. It is heavily stylized so as to seem “exotic” and “oriental” to the European eye. The double border consists of a diaper border outlined with a spearhead border. While the plate was manufactured at the site of the imperial kilns, it was intended for export to Europe as part of Chinese porcelain trade. This is made evident in the English transfer-print decoration with its clear, crisp lines and decallike look. Its purchase in Iran reflects British influence in Persia, which was a colonial subdivision of the British Empire from 1783 to 1971. This paper will consider the Chinese porcelain plate from the perspective of material culture and globalization as well as a limited amount of post-colonialism. Lines of questioning will include: the original setting in English dining customs and culture, its situation within the World Ceramics galleries of the Museum, and the role of British imperialism and its influence on those who used and consumed the Chinese porcelain plate. This will allow for a more detailed and nuanced understanding of the artificial construction of China in the British Empire.