A Study Of Chinese Exported Porcelain With Catholic Decoration In The Middle And Late Ming Dynasty

The subjects of this paper is Chinese exported porcelain with Catholic decoration.The time frame of this article begins with the first Portuguese landings on Chinese islands and direct trade with Chinese merchants in the early 16th century,during the Zhengde period,and ends with the fall of the Ming dynasty in 1644.During this century and a half of European colonisation and expansion,Western Christian culture began to spread across the globe,and Chinese kilns in Jingdezhen produced a certain amount of porcelain with Catholic decoration for export to Europe,particularly to the old Catholic countries of Portugal and Spain.This type of porcelain is not only rich in Western religious connotations,but also reflects the changes that occurred in the export porcelain trade during the middle to late Ming period,and is of great research value.This paper first reviews the brief history of academic research on this type of porcelain,and establishes the idea of this paper to study the Chinese exported porcelain with Catholic decoration in the middle and late Ming Dynasty,combining museum collections and archaeological excavations.Then this paper collected as much as possible the Chinese exported porcelain with Catholic decoration which it is mainly from the excavations of archaeological sites,museums and private collections.The porcelain is then classified according to the decoration on the porcelain.Among them,the eight types of Catholic decoration ordered are the The eight main types of Catholic decoration ordered are the the cross of the Order of Christ,the IHS monogram,the Hail Mary inscription,the mask motif,the magic fountain motif,the Saint Agustin emblem,the seven-hydra motif and the Passion.And these eight types of porcelain are sorted out and studied,including the analysis of these porcelain shapes,decorations,sources,meanings,dates and origins,etc.And,the Chinese exported porcelain with Catholic decoration in the middle and late Ming Dynasty is divided into two periods:the first period is from Zhengde to Jiajing,where Christian decoration often appear at the same time with the Portuguese royal coat of arms and the armillary,indicating that they are mainly related to the Portuguese royal family,nobility and religious groups,reflecting the close connection between Portuguese royal power and religious power in the early stages of trade with China;the second period is from Wanli to Chongzhen,when the prevalent decorations basically disappeared.This period of porcelain from the use of the decoration and the distribution and dissemination of porcelain,mainly to the Iberian Peninsula and its colonies of the church use.Chinese exported porcelain with Catholic decoration in the middle and late Ming Dynasty reflects the importance of the Portuguese and Western countries of the Iberian Peninsula for the mission on the one hand,and also reflects the eastern spread of Catholicism,religious groups have ordered the porcelain of the exclusive emblem.