Mother of pearl

There is much to see in this mother-of-pearl plaque. The border shows four images of shaking hands - probably a symbol of marriage, as we shall see later on.

Mother-of-pearl objects from Asia were highly desired collectibles in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Europe. Southern China with its international harbor Guangzhou, where this plaque was made, was one of the production centers, but objects from India traded through Goa and Gujarat were also in high demand. While plaques used as game counters were made out of one piece of mother of pearl, containers such as ewers and boxes could be covered with layers of the material, and furniture was inlaid with it. Mother-of-pearl inlays play an important role in Chinese furniture and casket production. Guangzhou was and still is an important center for furniture making. During the eighteenth century, Guangzhou also supplied European markets.[Bae 2018]