The Feedback Effect of the Geographic Distribution of Jewelry Consumption Markets at the End of the Silk Road (Europe, North Africa) on Upstream Origins during the Ming and Qing Dynasties

Abstract

The movements of the silk road trade during the Ming and Qing Dynasties was not simply a one way flow of goods from East to West, but a circular and recursive system wherein consumer demands from downstream markets fed back into upstream production systems. This paper studies the particular impact of the jewelry and luxury ornament consumption market in Europe and North Africa on the manufacturing centers of China from the 14th to 19th centuries. With the maritime trade routes overtaking land routes, “jewelry” went from barter and exchange of loose gemstones to a market of goods like filigree silver, Cantonese enamels, and mounted organic stones. The European market demanded more customization and specific adaptations due to the popularity of chinoiserie and the growing colonial wealth, Chinese workers had to change previous motifs and use technologies like painted enameled ones. Concurrently, the North African market, which was both consumers of specific beadwork and ornaments and suppliers of Mediterranean red coral, applied a different set of production standards that focused more so on religious or cultural use. This study uses historical trade data and material culture analysis to show that due to the geographic separation of these markets, Chinese production centers were forced into a specialization that led to a separation of export-style from domestic-style jewelry and ornamentation in Guangzhou (Canton). The findings show that the economic as well as aesthetic feedback from far-flung markets was mainly responsible for technological invention and the labor division in late imperial China’s luxury craft sector.