Sauceboat

Title: Sauceboat
Description: Boat-shaped with wavy rim and loop handle with thumb-piece and detatched heart-shaped terminal, the outside moulded with flowers; painted in underglaze blue beneath the pouring with a flower spray. The interior is painted in underglaze blue with flower-sprays and with cell-diaper border.; This sauceboat was produced at the kilns of Jingdezhen in southeast China in about 1760-70, and made specifically for export. The shape copies a sauceboat made at Bow in between 1756 and 1770.

In the 18th century Europeans greatly admired the white and resistant body of Chinese porcelain, available at low cost, but in addition to traditional shapes and designs, they also ordered tableware and household objects made in imitation of western items. The East India trading companies supplied models and patterns from Europe to Chinese potters who could copy them using local resources.
Identifier: C.16-1969
Coverage: Jingdezhen
Spatial Coverage: European
Date: ca. 1760 - 70
Medium: blue-and-white (ceramic glaze); 6.87 × 3.625 in. (17.46 × 9.208 cm)
Creator: Unknown
Subject: China trade porcelain; Blue and white ware--China; Ceramics
Publisher: Victoria and Albert Museum
Rights: © Victoria and Albert Museum, London 2016