Global by Design: Chinese Ceramics from the R. Albuquerque Collection

Catalogue for the exhibition held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, « Global by Design: Chinese Ceramics from the R. Albuquerque Collection », focusing on Chinese ceramics of the late 16th to the 18th century, a period during which they became a global luxury, transforming both the European ceramic industry and also the styles of dining and drinking. The exhibition comprises 48 entries with 60 exquisite and unusual pieces from an important Brazilian private collection, never exhibited before, exploring the way in which 18th-century artists, when faced with the global idioms that had developed at the time, made artistic choices that allowed them to create an endless range of spectacular and visually imaginative works.

This presentation will challenge the tradition of cataloguing Chinese ceramics as domestic or trade items. Besides exploring the trade in Chinese ceramics within Asia, the exhibition focus on the development of shapes and designs that reflect the history of exchange between China and the Islamic world as well as the period – the late 16th century – when works reflecting both the Chinese and Islamic traditions were introduced and incorporated into Europe and the Americas.