Enamel Pandan made for the Indian market

Canton (Guangzhou), China, 18th century (Qianlong reign)
Enamels on copper
7 cm long, 11 cm wide, 6.5 cm high
Stock no.: A4455

+44 (0)20 4572 6886

This box of beaten copper is covered in white enamel and painted with delicate floral designs in blue, pink, green, yellow, and black. The colours and motifs are typical of so-called 'Canton enamels', named after its centre of production in South China. The technique is thought to have been introduced to China by Jesuit missionaries, having emerged in Italy and France in the 16th century.¹ For this reason, it is known in Chinese as 'foreign porcelain’ (yangci / 洋瓷).² It was almost exclusively used as an export ware. The intended market can often be determined by the shape: in this case, a pandan for the Indian market.

[1] Norris, D., Braekmans, D., and Shortland, S. ‘Technological connections in the development of 18th and 19th century Chinese painted enamels’, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 42 (2022). pp. 1–9; p. 2.
[2] ‘Canton enamel’, Encyclopaedia Britannica, retrieved online via https://www.britannica.com/art/Chinese-pottery on 31/03/2025.

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