Canton enameled porcelain refers to porcelain made in Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province and decorated in Canton, nowadays Guangzhou in Guandong province. It originated in the 18^th century and was mainly exported to the United States of America in the late 18^th century and 19^th century. This thesis focuses on Canton enameled porcelain exported to the American market. This Canton enameled porcelain has hitherto been considered as Chinese export porcelain without being differentiated from those products of Jingdezhen in previous literature. Its roles in the Sino-American trade and social function in the formative period of the American society during the mid-18^th and 19^th century, thus, remain obscure. This thesis concerns the following questions: What were the differences between Canton enameled porcelain and its Jingdezhen counterpart in the context of the Sino-American trade? How was Canton enameled porcelain consumed in American houses? What roles did Canton enameled porcelain play in American families of different social stratum and how its significance change during the period concerned?

The thesis concerns the changing role of Canton enameled porcelain in the society of the United States of America in the first hundred years after the birth of the country. Since extant porcelain collections of American families concentrate on the east coast of the continent, the thesis will particularly focus on the social role of Canton enameled porcelain in different stratum of society in the states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Virginia, South Carolina, Delaware and Massachusetts on the east coast from 1784 to 1900.