objectifying china: ming and qing dynasty ceramics and their stylistic influences abroad

Porcelain, with its fine white body, delicately painted decoration and associations with China’s culture and vast wealth, has long delighted and captivated people in the West, as well as across the whole of Asia and the Islamic world.

This catalogue accompanies the exhibition Objectifying China: Ming and Qing Dynasty Ceramics and Their Stylistic Influences Abroad, held at the University Museum and Art Gallery of The University of Hong Kong. The work explores the production of Chinese porcelain and other ceramics for both export and the domestic market, and the many responses to these wares made overseas using local materials and decorative techniques.

The objects are considered from a variety of perspectives: as the product of skilled artisans, valuable trade commodities, useful objects for daily life and as important evidence of cultural interaction.