Plate c. 1755

This porcelain plate was made at the Chelsea Factory in England, sometime between 1742 and 1784. It’s made of soft-paste porcelain, a European innovation intended to mimic the hard-paste porcelain of China. The appeal of porcelain stemmed from its visual qualities: its whiteness, smoothness, and translucence. To achieve these qualities, a complex recipe of ground materials was fired at high temperature, demanding specialized knowledge and equipment. The image on the plate reflects the 18th-century fashion for Chinoiserie, a fanciful European interpretation of Chinese motifs. But the plate itself, and the system of labor that produced it, were distinctly European. The Chelsea Factory employed hundreds of workers, each specializing in a particular task. This division of labor allowed for mass production, but also deskilled the workforce. So, next time you see a piece of porcelain, remember that it’s not just a pretty object. It’s also a product of a particular time and place, shaped by the forces of industrialization and global trade.