Ceramics found at Shangchuan Island

Shangchuan Island (上川岛）is located on the southern coast of Guangdong, China. Its name originated from São João ("Saint John" in Portuguese). It was one of the first trading bases established by the Portuguese during the 16th century. They abandoned this base after the Chinese government gave consent for a permanent Portuguese trade base at Macau in 1557.

The Spanish Jesuit missionary St. Francis Xavier died on the island on December 3, 1552. He related in one of his letters that many merchants from Guangzhou went to Shangchuan to trade with the Portuguese. He died on the island on December 3, 1552, as he was waiting for a ship to take him to mainland China. There is a small chapel that commemorates his death place, designed by Achille-Antoine Hermitte and completed in 1869.

There is an archaeological site (花碗坪遗址）, now developed into a National park, located North of the Island. Numerous 16th cent. Jingdezhen blue and white and overglaze red/green enamelled shards were found there, a testament of the once active porcelain trade. Interestingly, no Zhangzhou (Swatow) blue and white Shard was among the find. It may be an indication that at least at the point of time, 1557 A. D when the Portuguese abandoned this trading base, Zhangzhou ware was still not in production or production was still at preliminary stage and not widely exported.

Ming Jiajing overglaze enamelled fragments

Ming Jingdezhen Jiajing blue and white fragments

Among the porcelain fragments found at Shangchuan, there are two fragments from the category known as Jorge Alvares bottles.

Extant pieces show that it is of yuhuchun bottle form, which are all inscribed in blue with an inverted Portuguese inscription “ISTO MANDOU FAZER JORGE ALVRZ NA ERA DE 1552 REINA”, meaning “Jorge Alvrz (Alvares) had this made in year 1552 of the reign [of King John III].” Jorge Alvares was a Portuguese dignitary, a merchant who was active in the East, and a writer. He commissioned these “Jorge Alvares bottles” with underglaze blue painting to present to the Royal families and nobility of the Middle East and Europe in order to consolidate his maritime trade network connections.