A significant number of Chinese textiles, dating mainly from the 17th and 18th centuries, can be found in Portuguese collections—both public and private—often existing in their original contexts of use. They are the result of the production and trade of Chinese textiles for the Portuguese market during the early modern period—and the enduring popularity those textiles experienced from the moment of their introduction.

The Albuquerque Foundation, envisioned by Brazilian collector Renato de Albuquerque and his granddaughter Mariana Teixeira de Carvalho, opened this past February. Located in Sintra, Portugal, the foundation is dedicated entirely to ceramics, housing one of the most significant private collections of export porcelain from the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) dynasties: more than 2,600 pieces assembled over six decades by Renato de Albuquerque.

The mounting of calligraphy and painting at the imperial courts of past dynasties often developed in line with emperors’ personal preferences and the courts’ creation and collection of calligraphy works and paintings. For example, during the Xuanhe period of the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127), Zhao Ji, the Huizong emperor (r. 1100–26), was addicted to calligraphy and painting art, being outstanding in these two fields himself.

If narrative paintings could talk, Tao Yuanming Returning to Seclusion (Fig. 1, section 1) would have multiple stories to tell—starting with how it came to be part of the first major American collection of early Chinese paintings, assembled by the Detroit industrialist Charles Lang Freer (1854–1919), who donated his collection to the Smithsonian Institution and founded the Freer Gallery of Art.

A Western art form imported to China after the opening of the seas, painted enamel metalwares evidence the exchange and interaction of personnel, techniques, raw materials, and artistic styles among the court, Guangzhou (Canton), and Jingdezhen, with forms, designs, and colours provided by both China and the West. Enamels were regarded as a rarity from the East that enchanted nations, winning acclaim in foreign lands and places.

Historical maps of Guangdong, a seaboard province in southern China, belong within several map lineages associated with Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) cartographic projects that include new surveys as well as those related to maritime trade and coastal defence of the region. The numerous large and small ports along its coast have long participated as terminal and transit points in many maritime trade routes; meanwhile, its largest coastal city, Guangzhou (Canton), has long been an important trading and diplomatic port.