Accession Number

1986.008.0812d

Creation Date

circa 1620

Description

Plate sherd. One of five pieces. See also 1986.008.0812a--c, e.

Exhibition Label

Case Caption (2023): N/A 
Object Caption (2023):

Tableware Fragments
Porcelain (China, Ming Dynasty, c.1600)
Gift of Jamestown Inc.
1986.008.0812a-e, 1986.0008.0897

The secret of making porcelain was closely guarded by the Chinese. Europeans could not produce it, and imports were so prized that the king of Spain created a collection of the finest pieces. It would have been carried on the Manila galleons that traded in the Pacific before being loaded aboard the Santa Margarita.