Figure of a Water Buffalo

Based on a Chinese porcelain model made for the European market, this mottled figure of a water buffalo and rider illustrates the predilection for exotic ornaments.

British potters drew upon a great variety of sources including prints, examples of foreign-made ceramics, textiles and metalwork. Italian and French tin-glazed earthenware was imitated in England, as in the small blue-ground Dish based on French models and the vibrantly colored Charger copying Italian wares. Near Eastern textile and metalwork patterns, as seen in the two Chargers on the back wall, were also design sources. As exotic Asian materials, including porcelain, were imported into Europe beginning in the 16th century, they became popular luxury objects and inspired the European fashion for chinoiserie.  Chinoiserie, a term derived from the French word chinois (Chinese), denotes a type of European art influenced by Asian art. As the taste for imported Asian objects grew in 17th- and 18th-century Europe, Asian motifs and forms were copied and adapted in objects such as the small Teapot and Stand and Cup and Saucer. 

As Asian porcelains were exported, European potters began to assimilate Eastern production methods, design motifs and glazes. Here, the blue and white glaze combination, polychrome glazes and unglazed ceramics reflect a range of glaze options inspired by Asian export porcelains. The Tankard, Jug and Teapot and Stand attempt to reproduce the look of blue and white porcelain with white tin oxide and cobalt blue glazes. The Cup and Saucer and Caudle Cup are examples of English forms enhanced with multi-colored Asian-inspired figures, landscapes and floral motifs, while the Water Buffalo is an example of an Asian figure with an English-style glaze. The unglazed red stoneware Teapots were inspired by Chinese red stoneware, called Yixing ware, imported into Europe beginning in the 17th century.