Charleston Loan Exhibition

44 In British North America, Chinese porcelain first appeared in the southern colonies in the early 1600s. By the mid-eighteenth century “China ware” was exported in large quantities from London to Charleston, both as bespoke goods and as assorted pieces and sets on speculation. These exotic ceramics were a high-status commodity in the parlors, dining rooms and even bedchambers of the Lowcountry’s wealthy inhabitants. In addition to garniture sets and tea equipage, they amassed extensive dining services with specialized forms for breakfast, dinner and supper offerings. Sauce boat and underplate, bowl and plate Qing Dynasty, Qianlong Period China, 1765/1795 Porcelain with overglaze in famille rose pattern Sauce boat: H. 3¼ x W. 7 ‡/* x D. 4 inches; Underplate: H. 1 ⁄/* x W. 10 ‡/* x D. 7¼ inches; Bowl: H. 1 ‡/!^ x W. 8 fi/* inches, Diam. 4 ‡/* (foot) inches; Plate: H. 1 x Diam. 9 ⁄/!^ inches, Diam. 5 ⁄/* (foot) inches Historic Charleston Foundation, collection purchase, Charleston, SC, 2004.001.009, 2004.001.008, 2004.001.005.g, 2004.001.006.f From family histories and archeological finds, we can discern that Chinese export in the “Double Peacock and Peony” pattern was popular in Charleston. This sauceboat, bowl and plate are part of a larger set once belonging to Cap- tain Daniel Bacon, of Boston, who owned the clipper ship “Gamecock.” The various provenances of export porcelain with this particular famille rose decoration show that it was widely imported throughout the Americas and found equal appreciation outside of the colonial South. Sauce boat, bowl, soup tureen and small platter Qing Dynasty, Qianlong Period China, ca. 1770 Porcelain with overglaze, hand-painted famille rose pseudo-tobacco leaf pattern Sauce boat: H. 8½ x W. 4¼ x D. 5¾ inches; Bowl: H. 1¼ x Diam. 6½ inches; Soup tureen: H. 14¼ x W. 8½ x D. 10½ inches; Small platter: 10 x 7¾ x 1 ⁄/!^ inches. Lent by The Charleston Museum, Charleston, SC, HC1368c, HC1368g, HC1368e-1-2 This faux tobacco-leaf pattern was purchased by Daniel Ravenel from a manufacturer near Peking, and the service was used pri- marily at the family’s Wantoot Plantation in Berkeley County. During the Revolutionary War, British forces overtook Wantoot and occupied it for a short while. The soldiers found the extensive china service and distributed it among the rank and file for their use. Informed of the soldiers’ callous caretaking of the china, Mrs. Ravenel appealed to the British commanding officer, who graciously had each piece accounted for and returned to her. Today, The Charleston Museum holds 119 pieces of Daniel Ravenel’s impressive service, yet this portion is by no means the lion’s share. Larger segments are still held in private collections. Unfortunately, it remains uncertain just how many pieces were originally ordered by Ravenel—however, it is still regarded as the largest known Chinese export service surviving from the colonial period.