This antique Chinese handpainted blue and white Canton porcelain plate was created for the export market. It features a traditional landscape motif on the plate’s interior, surrounded by a rain cloud border, and dates to the Qianlong period of the Qing dynasty (1736-1795).

The brushstroke design is executed using a range of blues, from watery to cobalt, against a grey-white base. The item's underside is covered with a blueish tint.

Wire mounted.

These plates and other servingware were especially popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, when factories in Canton created porcelain and stoneware pieces for export. They featured decorative border patterns surrounding a generic traditional landscape that could include pagodas, boats, trees, bridges, mountains, and a river or stream. 

This porcelain was also called ballast ware, as crates of these items were transported in the cargo holds of ships and proved to be effective at providing stability in rough seas. 

Canton ware was very popular throughout the American colonies and after the Revolutionary War (1775-1783), and could be found in the homes of early presidents. 

Please compare to similar plates in the collections database for the Five Colleges and Historic Deerfield Museum Consortium (Accession Number HD 82.021.12)

Chipstone Foundation (Ceramics at Hampton, Baltimore County, Maryland Collection, Blue-and-white plate, Canton, Private Collection)

MFA Boston (Acc

ession Number 1972.478)

Mount Vernon Estate (Object Number W-2786/BB)

Measures approx. 8.5” diam

Chip to rim underside (See pics)