Study On Armorial Porcelain Collection Of The Society Of Jesus At The Holy House Of Mercy In Macau

This study focuses on the Holy House of Mercy heritage collection, a group of porcelains with a unique label that belongs to the Society of Jesus. The whole article could be divided into three parts:first, determine where and when the porcelains were produced based on their external design; second, analyse and interpret the meanings of the porcelain decoration and its localization transformation; third, by discussing their usages and the areas they were passed on, it is found that their orders were closely related to the preaching activities of the Society of Jesus in China. As one kind of special customized porcelains, the armorial porcelain of the Society of Jesus reveals its cultures as well as its detailed development and history in China at that time. And in the process of customizing,the western-styled symbolic language gradually blended with the local Chinese culture, making this kind of porcelains of great value in cultural exchange.The Society of Jesus has played a key role in the spread of Christianity in China. The influence of Christianity on Macao is not only demonstrated by churches,schools and other social institutions built by members of the Society of Jesus everywhere on the land of Macao, but also could be seen from the perspective of culture. Today the Holy House of Mercy is enthusiastically publicising the history and culture of the Society of Jesus in many ways, one of which is a museum that exhibits historical relic of the society.