Chinese porcelain in European painting

[1] The style of the bowls is that of the Ming dynasty blue and white porcelain type, maybe examples of which are known to have been exported in Persia, Syria and Egypt.

[1] Some earlier examples are known though, although it is unclear if they are Chinese or Islamic prototypes, as in the Madonna and Child by Francesco Benaglio (1460–70), or the Adoration of the Magi by Andrea Mantegna (1495–1505).

[2][3] French painters, such as François Desportes and Paul Gauguin, also represented Chinese bowls in their still-life paintings.

As a monopoly in the early-modern Europe-Asia trade, the Dutch East India Company acts as a mediator between the two cultures and imports tons of porcelain along with other commodities like spices, silk, and tea.

[6] Since then, Chinese ceramic was not the exclusive luxury that only appeared in the upper class's mansion but became increasingly common in the domestic setting of the relatively humble household.

[7] Although the imported Chinese ceramics gains its popularity among wealthy merchants, the erudite scholars and philosophers are not satisfied merely with the commercial value of the porcelain.

The appeal of China is deeply rooted in a long western tradition that may begin with the renowned Italian explorer Marco Polo.

[8] This impression of China was reinforced by the exotic Chinese goods and luxuries that appeared in Europe, such as spices, silk, tea, and porcelain.

Thus, still-life painters are mediators who seize the commodity, which is highly esteemed by society and represent it in their painting.

[13] In this sense, porcelain traded by Dutch East India company was a good choice for the artists to contain in their still-life paintings considering its social and economic connotation.

Moreover, the porcelain in Dutch still-life painting demonstrates how the material culture circulated and interacted around the world in the seventeenth century.