The Movement of Chinese Ceramics: Appropriation in Global History

The subject of Chinese export ceramics has recently moved beyond the traditional confines of art history into the purview of economic and world history. In consequence, Chinese porcelain in particular is increasingly being used as a model for studies of global connections in history and economics, with reference to both exchange net­works and consumer cultures. The perspective of these studies is somewhat one-dimen­sional and universalizing, however. This article seeks to reconsider the current state of affairs by presenting two case studies from sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England and Iran, which demonstrate that while the dissemination of Chinese porcelain may have been global, its impact was local.