Onto The World’s Tables

The craze for porcelain was not orchestrated – it was a by-product of another, more lucrative trade. What we think of now as a luxury item was brought to London simply to pack around the valuable tea cargoes. 

It added ballast to ships without tainting the flavour of the precious tea cargoes. But soon, this affordable tableware was an essential item – with over half a million pieces brought to London in 1713 alone.