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Kraak Porcelain Export Ware

Type Object Region China Time 1581–1590

Late 16th-century Jingdezhen blue-and-white export porcelain with paneled decoration, later named 'Kraak' by Dutch merchants;…

Timeline

  1. 1581–1585Zhushan kiln site, Jingdezhen · JiangxiDuring the Wanli era Jingdezhen private kilns produced blue-and-white export porcelain to Portuguese and Guangzhou merchant designs, using paneled cartouches and lotus-petal borders suited to European tables, with thin bodies and bluish-white glaze, exclusively for overseas markets.
  2. 1583–1587Macau · GuangdongPorcelain traveled from Guangzhou via the Pearl River to Macau for loading; Portuguese India-bound carracks carried it across the Indian Ocean to Lisbon, and in the 1580s this route was the main channel for Chinese porcelain into Europe, each ship carrying thousands of fragile pieces.
  3. 1585–1590Lisbon · PortugalChinese blue-and-white export porcelain sold at very high prices in Lisbon, Antwerp, and Venice; the Habsburg court and German princes displayed them in their Kunstkammer, sparking a European craze for imitating Oriental porcelain.

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