Covered jar with a banquet scene from the Qing dynasty, early Kangxi period (1662-77). Courtesy The Museum of East Asian Art

Bath’s Museum of East Asian Art is exploring the connections between ceramics and foreign trade at its current exhibition.

Chinese Ceramics And The Maritime Trade Pre-1700, running until December 10 2006, explores this little-known aspect of Chinese art. Covering the 7th to the 18th centuries, it looks at the history and diversity of ceramic wares produced outside of imperial workshops.

Chinese society was guided by traditional Confucian philosophy, which took a dim view of trade and commerce. This was to have profound effects upon the Chinese bureaucracy, with several periods of harsh prohibition interspersed with times of relative liberalism.

Foreign demand for fine Chinese ceramics meant that an export trade survived despite its official suppression, however. Archaeological finds show that exportation of ceramics by sea had begun as early as the 7th century and was substantial by the 8th and that certain designs and shapes were made to cater for the tastes of the countries they were intended for.

Ko-sometsuke landscape-patterned dishes from the late Ming dynasty (1600-1644). Courtesy The Museum of East Asian Art

The exhibition shows how white wares and green wares, such as yue or celadons, were the premier traded Chinese ceramics from the 8th to the 14th centuries, going to markets like Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, Japan and ports around the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf.

During the later Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279AD) imperial decrees encouraging trade led to an increase in Chinese ceramics exported by sea and a vast expansion in porcelain production. The Jingdezhen kilns produced much high quality qingbai white ware and later blue and white porcelain in this period and became the predominant centre for Chinese ceramics.

By the end of the 15th century Portuguese explorers had opened up new sea routes around the Cape of Good Hope allowing Europeans direct access to East Asian. This development of international trade stimulated the market for Chinese ceramics although the emperors of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644AD) tried to re-impose strict trade controls.

Ewer with flying sea-dragons design - late 16th century. Courtesy The Museum of East Asian Art

Imperial decrees banned all trade with foreigners from 1525 to 1684 and Chinese people were even prevented from travelling abroad. These restrictions were not universally upheld, however, and because demand for Chinese ceramics remained high illegal trade continued.

In the mid-17th century internal conflict and reduced output meant that European traders had to look elsewhere to supply their demand for ceramics and Japanese ceramics, once heavily influenced by Chinese techniques, became popular and in time were to be copied by their neighbours.

After trade liberalisation in 1684 the Chinese market became easily accessible to European markets. However, after the western discovery of how to make porcelain in the 1720s the demand for oriental ceramics went into terminal decline.

The exhibition takes an interesting journey through these developments and has more than 100 pieces on display from the Tang (618-907AD) until the early Qing dynasty (1644-1911AD), all made specifically for exportation.