Awards

Canton export painting of porcelain manufacture refers to images depicting the production, transportation, and sales processes of porcelain produced in Canton specifically for European consumption, which emerged between the 1730s and the 1860s. Focusing on Canton export painting of porcelain manufacture, this dissertation examines how porcelain knowledge is produced, disseminated, consumed, and translated in cross-cultural contexts through images.

The persistence of export porcelain images for over a century is closely tied to the transregional production of Chinese export porcelain, Europe's exploration of foreign knowledge, and the advent of the Western Industrial Revolution. Considering its fundamental attribute as “export”, what was the local context in Canton and the environment of cross-cultural exchange in which these images emerged? What were the characteristics and features of these images? Regarding the theme of “porcelain-making” in these images, how should we understand their connection to the dissemination of Chinese porcelain-making knowledge? What were the patterns of their consumption and use abroad, and how were they integrated into the European knowledge system? From the perspective of cross-cultural research, this study views export painting of porcelain production as a historical profiling. It connects the circulation of images with the transmission of technical knowledge, exploring the multiple functional dimensions of export paintings.