‘Hidden’ Maritime Communication–Custom-made Porcelain from Portugal and Early Ming Dynasty Trade along the Southeast Coast

The opening of new trade routes at the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century enabled Portugal to become the first Western country to establish contact with and engage in trade with the southeastern coast of China. Prior to its designation as an official trading port during the early Ming dynasty (1514–1552), Macau was primarily engaged in the trade of porcelain through ports such as Guangzhou and Malacca. Portugal, a principal European market for Chinese porcelain, fulfilled two distinct roles. Firstly, it was a consumer of Chinese porcelain. Secondly, it served as a transit point for re-export to Europe and the wider Atlantic world. The earliest European-influenced porcelain was custom-made porcelain produced for the Portuguese market during the reign of Emperor Zhengde (1505–1521). Despite the subsequent prohibition of Sino-Portuguese trade under the reign of Jiajing (1522–1554), maritime trade between China and Portugal had already commenced prior to the opening of Macau and the granting of permission by local officials in Guangdong for Portuguese travellers to reach Guangzhou for trade purposes. The current and continually emerging corpus of custom-made porcelain offers tangible evidence of the Portuguese traders' sustained and regular commercial activities in China's southeastern coastal provinces. It provides a material basis for the hypothesis that special orders were made during this period of 'hidden' trade.