ABSTRACT
The late seventeenth to eighteenth centuries in Europe were a period of transformative technological, cultural, and political change that set the stage for the commercialization of and desire for Chinese trade goods in Europe and European colonies across the globe. The eighteenth century brought with it an ever-increasing thirst for scientific knowledge and a burgeoning curiosity and interest in exotic places and things. This chapter provides a discussion of many of the most common individual export porcelain motifs and color palettes datable from the late seventeenth through early nineteenth centuries, but, importantly, it also contextualizes the information by presenting details of the social and political changes in the West and China that shaped the China trade. It discusses some of the technological, socio-cultural, and economic shifts that drove trade with China and the interest in Chinese wares. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
