CHINESE PORNOGRAPHY IN A PORTUGUESE NUNNERY: ON A TRANSITIONAL PERIOD BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN BOWL RECOVERED FROM THE SANTANA CONVENT (LISBON)

This paper discusses a rare Late Ming blue and white porcelain bowl with five cartouches depicting scenes of sexual intercourse, which was found during archaeological excavations in the Santana convent, a former Franciscan nunnery located in Lisbon founded in 1562. The paper begins with a descriptio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antiquaries journal 2023-10, Vol.103, p.315-332
Main Authors: Afonso, Luís Urbano, Gomes, Mário Varela, Gomes, Rosa Varela
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
17th century
Archaeology
Baroque era
Ceramics
Chinese culture
Convents
Erotica
Excavation
Historic artifacts
Imagery
International trade
Porcelain
Sexuality
Tableware
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Summary:This paper discusses a rare Late Ming blue and white porcelain bowl with five cartouches depicting scenes of sexual intercourse, which was found during archaeological excavations in the Santana convent, a former Franciscan nunnery located in Lisbon founded in 1562. The paper begins with a description of the bowl, the context of its recovery and its significance, highlighting its extreme rarity among Chinese export porcelains. The second section discusses Chinese sexuality and the production of erotica during the Late Ming period, namely porcelains with erotic and sexual imagery, a subject that has been overlooked by mainstream scholarship. The last section proposes an explanation for the presence of this bowl in the Santana nunnery, emphasising the gap between the ideals of Iberian Catholic monastic life and the worldly practices conducted by the members of these religious orders in the Baroque era.
ISSN:0003-5815
1758-5309
DOI:10.1017/S0003581523000318