Export porcelain

Chinese export porcelain includes a wide range of Chinese porcelain that was made (almost) exclusively for export to Europe and later to North America between the 16th and the 20th century. Whether wares made for non-Western markets are covered by the term depends on context. Chinese ceramics made mainly for export go back to the Tang dynasty if not earlier, though initially they may not be regarded as porcelain.

It is typically not used as a descriptive term for the much earlier wares that were produced to reflect Islamic taste and exported to the Middle East and Central Asia, though these were also very important, apparently driving the development of Chinese blue and white porcelain in the Yuan and Ming dynasties (see Chinese influences on Islamic pottery). Other types of Chinese wares made mainly for export to other markets may or may not be covered; they are certainly described as export wares in discussing the Chinese industry, but much discussion in Western sources only refers to wares intended for Europe. The other types include Swatow ware (c. 1575-1625), made for South-East Asian and Japanese markets, and Tianqi porcelain, made mainly for the Japanese market in the 17th century. Chinese celadons were exported to most of Eurasia, but not Europe, between roughly the Tang and the early Ming dynasties.

Wares from the 16th century include Kraak porcelain, Yixing stonewares, Blanc de Chine, blue and white porcelain, famille verte, noire, jaune and rose, Chinese Imari, armorial wares, and Canton porcelain. Chinese export porcelain was generally decorative, but without the symbolic significance of wares produced for the Chinese home market. Except for the rare Huashi soft paste wares, traditionally Chinese porcelain was made using kaolin and petuntse. While rim chips and hairline cracks are common, pieces tend not to stain. Chinese wares were usually thinner than those of the Japanese and did not have stilt marks.

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