Plate with a boy, a shishi and flowerin plants c. 1755

Curator: Oh, how delightful! This is a Bow porcelain plate dating from around 1755, entitled "Plate with a boy, a shishi and flowerin plants." The hand-painted decoration features a boy playing with a tasseled object alongside a mythical shishi lion, surrounded by delicate floral arrangements. Editor: It's certainly charming. The glaze has a kind of watery, almost hesitant quality that contrasts with the bold depictions of the boy and lion. The colours are a bit faded, are they not? The maker certainly knew how to get the most out of the materials at hand! Curator: Fading is natural over time. The key is recognizing what porcelain like this represented. Bow was one of the first factories in England to produce soft-paste porcelain, attempting to emulate the prized porcelain coming from China. The shapes, the octagonal plate, and Chinoiserie motifs speaks to a growing English fascination and global trade. It places porcelain as a centerpiece of social aspiration at the time. Editor: Absolutely, and the composition and painting style highlights a critical moment in the production and consumption of luxury goods in 18th century England. Look at the details around the central figures – they show signs of pattern transfer! To what extent was labour divided to speed production on pieces such as this? It shows a complex relationship between handcrafted details and an increasingly industrialized system. Curator: Precisely. It highlights the blurring lines between artisan production and emerging industrial techniques. The very act of dining, the rituals around displaying and using such a plate, was also heavily steeped in socio-political meaning, conveying status and cultural capital to its owner. This seemingly simple decorative object spoke volumes about their social standing. Editor: It becomes clear how the ownership and display of this "simple decorative object" reflected a whole host of aspirations from emulating wealthy households through colonial authority. To have one of these items prominently featured in one’s home served a powerful socio-economic purpose at the time. Curator: Thinking about it now, such wares made these ideas about social position tangible objects, things to literally own and admire on your own dining table. Editor: Indeed, bringing grand socio-economic principles down to Earth! This porcelain plate gives great insight into 18th century consumption and its politics.