Water buffalo and reclining Chinese figure (one of a pair) 1755 - 1765

These figures of water buffalo with reclining figures are Whieldon-type earthenware. These pieces are from the mid-18th century, produced in Staffordshire, England, but demonstrate the global reach of artistic and cultural exchange during that period. The figures reflect the vogue for Chinoiserie, a Western artistic style that incorporated imagined or stylized East Asian motifs. The reclining figure and water buffalo are both common in Chinese art, symbolizing a pastoral ideal. Yet, here, they are filtered through a European lens, made for a market eager to consume exotic, orientalist fantasies. The production of these objects was deeply embedded in the economic structures of the time, including emerging factory systems and global trade networks. Analyzing the cultural and economic context reveals the complex interplay between artistic creation, consumer demand, and the social construction of taste. To understand art, historians use archives, trade records, and studies of decorative arts, connecting the object to the world that created it.