Lisbon as Seen from China: Conundrums Posed by a Set of Lacquered Nesting Tables

Abstract

ABSTRACTOn September 27, 1862, the King of Portugal, D. Luís I married by proxy the Italian princess D. Maria Pia de Sabóia, at that time living in Turin. When the Queen arrived in Lisbon, on 5 October 1862, the wedding celebrations lasted for five days. Views of Lisbon during those days decorate a set of four lacquered nesting tables in the Palácio Nacional da Ajuda collection. Archival research revealed prints published in 1862 in the Portuguese illustrated magazine Archivo Pittoresco that are undoubtedly the source for this gilded decoration. Based on these depictions and the print source the nesting tables were initially attributed to Portuguese manufacture. However, closer observation of the form, materials, and decoration of these pieces instead connects the tables with Chinese export lacquer production from the nineteenth century. Scientific analysis, archival research and stylistic comparison were combined to further investigate the decoration of this set of nesting tables and thus provide a better understanding of their provenance. Optical microscopy, thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were used to determine that the lacquer coating applied on the set of nesting tables follows Chinese export lacquer techniques. Western views depicted on Chinese export ceramic objects are well known, but documented examples applied to lacquered pieces are rare. This set of lacquered nesting tables with its specific decoration constitutes a remarkable case demonstrating image transfer between Europe and China in the nineteenth century.