Plate

Art Historical Context

This elegant hard-paste porcelain plate, to around 1785, exemplifies exquisite craftsmanship of Chinese export porcelain during the late 18th century. Measuring just over 6 inches in diameter it features delicate motifs of buildings and bridges likely painted in vibrant enamels to appeal to Western tastes. Produced in China, possibly for the burgeoning American market, such pieces were highly prized by early U.S. collectors as symbols of luxury and global trade. Hard-paste porcelain, made from kaolin clay and fired at high temperatures, was a Chinese innovation that Europeans avidly copied bu...