Antique Chinese Cantonese porcelain serving dish, 19th century. Different panels with flowers and figures. Central what seems to be an armorial.

“Canton” or “Cantonese porcelain” is the typical style of ceramic items decorated in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong and (before 1842) the only legal port for the export of Chinese products to Europe and the United States.

At that time, the Chinese hid the secret formula of their porcelain, and that is why they had a large export.

Canton porcelain was the only hard porcelain available to early Americans until the mid-1800s, and about 2.5 million pieces were exported from 1784-1850.

With the start of the first opium war in 1839, production and trade ceased for almost 20 years. After the Wars of the opium, porcelain changed in appearance and decoration as it became thinner and had a thinner decoration. The introduction of Cantonese porcelain continued unabated until the outbreak of World War II.