Oriental Porcelains Excavated in Havana, Cuba

摘要

In 1571，Spain founded Manila City for the rule of the Philippines and Asian trade. Ferdinand Magellan crossed the Pacific Ocean half a century before that time. After the City of Manila had been built, the Manila Galleon traderoute was soon established. It functioned as a long-distance and large-scale sea trade route connecting Asian world with the American Continent until the early 19th century. Many Asian goods, such as silks and spices, were exported by the Spanish galleons. They included East Asian porcelains as well. Moreover East Asian porcelains were transported from the American Continent to Spain by the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Havana was one of the most important trade cities in the Caribbean Sea and many Asian goods were imported to Havana. Therefore the authors started to research on Oriental porcelains unearthed from La Habana Vieja in Havana in 2014. These pieces of porcelain were Chinese porcelains, except4pieces of Japanese porcelains. The majority of these pieces of Chinese porcelain were blueand-white dishes and blue-and-white or overglaze-enamel chocolate cups. They were produced in mainly Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province between 16th century and 19th century. All pieces of Japanese porcelain were blue-andwhite chocolate cups that were produced in Arita, Saga prefecture in the second half of 17th century. This general character is similar with one of Central America such as Mexico and Guatemala. This fact shows us that most of these porcelains were transported from Central America, not from Europe. However we have to consider the possibility that some porcelains were imported from Europe and North America because Havana became free port in 18th and 19th centuries and opened to all countries.