Not on display

Wrapping Porcelain in Rice Straw and Packing in Wooden Tubs

Painting
1770-1790 (made), 1770-1790 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This painting is from a set of 24 depicting the porcelain industry in China. It shows workers wrapping porcelain in rice straw and packing it in wooden tubs. Europe could not produce true porcelain before the 18th century. Artists targeted paintings such this at Europeans eager to find out the secrets of porcelain manufacture in China.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • Wrapping Porcelain in Rice Straw and Packing in Wooden Tubs (generic title)
  • 清 佚名 製瓷圖:瓷器打包 (published title)
Materials and techniques
Watercolours on paper
Brief description
Painting, 'Wrapping Porcelain in Rice Straw and Packing in Wooden Tubs', watercolours on paper, Guangzhou, China, 1770-1790
Physical description
Rectangular watercolour painting completed in muted tones, a central figure brings bails or rice straw to support those packing wooden tubs, one of twenty-four depicting the various processes of the pottery industry.
Dimensions
  • Height: 40cm
  • Width: 60cm
Style
Object history
Purchased from Gordon M. Forsyth, accessioned in 1910. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project, one of twenty-four depicting the various processes of the pottery industry.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This painting is from a set of 24 depicting the porcelain industry in China. It shows workers wrapping porcelain in rice straw and packing it in wooden tubs. Europe could not produce true porcelain before the 18th century. Artists targeted paintings such this at Europeans eager to find out the secrets of porcelain manufacture in China.
Associated objects
Bibliographic reference
Souvenir from Canton : Chinese export paintings from the Victoria and Albert Museum, Shanghai, 2003 113
Collection
Accession number
E.55-1910

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Record createdNovember 7, 2003
Record URL
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