Porcelain: Appropriation or Appreciation?
Andrea Ozanich is a two-time alumna from Wayne State University recently graduating with her Masters in Public History and a certificate in Nonprofit Management. She previously interned at The Edsel and Eleanor Ford House in the Education department and worked as a Researcher on the restoration of Fair Lane: Home of Clara and Henry Ford. Andrea’s exhibit “Dallying in the Alley,” which showcased the grassroots festival Dally in the Alley, was on display at the Detroit Historical Museum from late 2022 to early 2023.
What is Porcelain?
China has a long and proud history of crafting the world’s most sought-after porcelain. Blue and white porcelain is said to have developed in Jingdezhen dating back to the 14th century. Jingdezhen had been major ceramic production center since Yuan dynasty (1280 CE-1368 CE) when the well-known blue and white porcelain was produced on a large scale.[1] This long history has led Jingdezhen to be named the “porcelain city”.[2] By the late 16th century, porcelain production in Jingdezhen became the largest operation in the world requiring an overhaul of their industrial operations.
As demand grew, the industry employed over 70,000 workers to operate over 1,000 kilns.[3] Although the ceramic tradition was created centuries before the rise in popularity of blue and white porcelain, Jingdezhen contributed an organizational structure to the ceramic tradition.[4] Factories mirrored assembly lines where each worker had a specific role to perform from preparing the clay, to throwing pots, or glazing. The specialization of each worker meant that it took about 72 hands to produce 1 piece of porcelain.[5]
Trade of Chinese goods increased with the formation of the Silk Road during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE- 220 CE). The Silk Road served as a link between cultures and facilitated the transportation of Chinese designs into countries that did not have strong pottery traditions.[6] Cultural traditions like music, dance, food, design, and religion were all a by-product of cross-cultural exchange.
During the Han Dynasty (206 BCE- 220 CE) and prior to the increased trade with Europe, porcelain was seen by the Chinese as mass produced and as functional. It was rarely considered a luxury. The amount of porcelain imported between the 17th and 18th century was purchased primarily by European aristocrats who used porcelain as a status symbol due to its rarity and exoticness.
Porcelain City – Jingdezhen, China
Dating back centuries, Jingdezhen, an inland province of Jiangxi[7] has been home to the long-standing tradition of creating porcelain. Dating back to 1082 CE, China established a central office to manage the porcelain trade in Jingdezhen. The office created land and sea trade routes for merchants sailing to and from China.[8] The porcelain wares were created from a low-fired earthenware whose raw materials left a reddish/gray colored piece that was eventually covered with a green glaze as seen in Figure 1. [9]
Fig. 1 Chinese Han Dynasty Vase (206 BCE-220 CE)
Source: Edsel and Eleanor Ford House
Modern interpretation of Chinese porcelain suggest porcelain from this region should be considered a “work of art”.[10]
Appropriation or Appreciation?
- Chinese Made: Asian Influence
Before the Ming Dynasty (1368 CE- 1644 CE), Chinese porcelain decorations came from a variety of mediums like performances or paintings on silk or paper.[11] When blue and white porcelain became high in demand, painters and potters utilized modern literature and performances to draw inspiration. As painters drew on cultural influences for inspiration, many motifs and symbols appropriated from other cultures became attributed as a traditional Chinese porcelain motif. Designs influenced by Islamic culture such as the arabesque, vine and leaf motives and renditions of Arabic calligraphy are often seen and sometimes attributed as a traditional Chinese decorative element.[12] The lotus flower is frequently used in Chinese porcelain made prior to the Ming dynasty, but originates from what is now the Middle East. Now it is often misappropriated as a part of Chinese history.
The lotus symbol was redesigned based on the traditional vine scrolls that are seen in carvings in temples in the Middle East as seen in Figure 2.
Fig. 2 Qing Dynasty Vase (1644-1912)
Source: China Online Museum
The lotus flower appeared so often on Chinese blue and white porcelain that, 200 years later, it is referred to as the “porcelain flower”.[13]
It is imperative to broaden the timeline to understand that cultural appropriation of historical objects can appear throughout history and can be seen in many cultures. Designs and motifs travel between cultures across a large historical time frame, thus altering cultural traditions along the way. Although the appropriation of the lotus flower happened centuries ago, the cross-cultural interaction impacts modern day interpretation of the history behind Chinese designs and motifs.
- Chinese Made: Western Influence
As trade amplified between China and Europe, so did the import of porcelain. Chinese blue and white porcelain had a significant impact on European decorative arts. In the early 17th century, porcelain was mounted on walls, displayed in cabinets, and hung above fireplace mantels to display wealth in aristocratic homes. Porcelain obtained a new identity through this localized form of appropriation.[14]
As painters became familiar with European taste, it led to the creation of Europeanized motifs. Chinese potters eventually created serving ware to cater to European taste which was foreign to traditional Chinese porcelain wares. Objects such as large dishes, platter stands, and jars were specifically developed for the European market and had no cultural significance in Chinese traditions. (Figure 4)[15]
Fig. 4 Qing Dynasty Serving stand/ cake platter (1664-1912)
Source: China Online Museum
- European Made: Chinoiserie
The fall of the Ming Dynasty in 1644 CE China lost the monopoly on porcelain. With the decline in porcelain imports, European companies filled the void by attempting to recreate the delicate blue and white porcelain. Chinoiserie can be described as the western interpretation of traditional Chinese motifs. This interpretation of Chinese designs often diminished the cultural significance surrounding design elements and transformed them into ornamental designs that became popular in the early 17th century.[16]
Original motifs such as figures and landscapes were often simplified to become picturesque and accessible.[17] These oversimplifications were a combination of original motifs from Chinese, Japanese, and Indian traditions that were grossly mis-conceptualized and often featured landscapes, birds, and figures wearing “Chinese clothes”. (Figure 5) [18]
Fig. 5 Baluster vase. Dutch (Delft) about 1680-1700
Source: Museum of Fine Arts Boston
4. European Made: Delft, Netherlands
Porcelain created in Delft, Netherlands became a contributing factor to the increase of European porcelain factories. Delft potters did not appropriate Chinese designs immediately but started transitioning their themes when they realized their wares could be sold at a lower cost. [19] This make-believe style often copied designs and motifs found on Chinese blue and white porcelain, but a majority of the time painters used their imagination to create fictitious designs that could pass as Chinese. Upon closer look, western interpretation of Asian facial features and regional flora and fauna are clear indicators of a made-up interpretation of traditional designs.
Conclusion
Analyzing blue and white porcelain through a global history lens shows that porcelain impacted society in a variety of ways. Different groups have different patterns of consumption and appropriation depending on the region they live in.[20] Often, this changes over time, which results in the ever-changing interpretation of the historical and cultural significance of objects like porcelain
[1] Wu Juan, Pau L. Leung, and Li Jiazhi, “A Study of the Composition of Chinese Blue and White Porcelain,” Studies in Conservation 52, no. 3 (2007): 188.
[2] Stacey Pierson, “The Movement of Chinese Ceramics: Appropriation in Global History,” Journal of World History 23, no. 1 (2012): 11.
[3] Robert Finlay, “The Pilgrim Art: The Culture of Porcelain in World History,” Journal of World History 9, no. 2 (1998): 156.
[4] Maris Boyd Gillette, “China’s Porcelain Capital: The Rise, Fall and Reinvention of Ceramics in Jingdezhen,” in China’s Porcelain Capital: The Rise, Fall and Reinvention of Ceramics in Jingdezhen (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2018),16.
[5] Ibid, 15-16.
[6] Pierson, 10.
[7] Wu Juan, 188.
[8] Pierson, 11.
[9] Finlay, 156.
[10] Gillette, 16.
[11] Hsu Wen-Chin. “Illustrations of “Romance of the Western Chamber” on Chinese Porcelains: Iconography, Style, and Development.” Ars Orientalis 40 (2011): 49.
[12] Finlay, 157.
[13] Ibid, 177-178.
[14] Pierson, 36.
[15] Finlay, 157.
[16] Pierson, 23.
[17] Finlay, 183.
[18] “V&A · Chinoiserie – an Introduction,” Victoria and Albert Museum, 2021.
[19] Timothy Brook, “Vermeer’s Hat: The Seventeenth Century and the Dawn of the Global World,” in Vermeer’s Hat: The Seventeenth Century and the Dawn of the Global World (Seúl, Corea: Chungrim, 2008), 78.
[20] Pierson, 13.
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