Large plate with an oriental figure on an elephant

The vast production of porcelain for export often used bodies made in Jingdezhen and then painted with decoration and re-fired by local shops in Guangzhou. These guangcai ("Guangdong polychrome") wares are decorated with fresh elements in the Western aesthetic, as seen here by the European festoons on the border of the plate. Chains of small flowers in six, eight, or more panels were the standard decorative style for enamels of the eighteenth century on Chinese export porcelain, as witnessed by the considerable quantity of dishes shipped to Europe (Howard 1974: 147, 594-5, 624-5). An elephant carrying its master on its back is shown on both the dish and the bowl. The pink toned hue glimmers with passages of gold.