Blue and white eight tiered pagoda, China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911), late 18th century-early 19th century. Porcelain decorated in underglaze cobalt blue and gold, 90 x 28 cm © Jorge Welsh Works of Art

Porcelain models of pagodas, such as the present example, were rare and costly export items for the West. During the 18th century, these towering structures were perhaps the most distinctive symbol of the East, and, for Westerners, became a favourite decorative motif in paintings, engravings and on Chinese export porcelain wares.

Models of pagodas are found in a variety of materials—silver, ivory, lacquered wood, stoneware, porcelain—and were particularly favoured by European royalty. Between 1806 and 1816, King George IV, then the Prince Regent, bought six porcelain pagodas for the Brighton Pavilion, now part of the Royal Collection. According to the Royal Archive, these were purchased at great expense.

In a drawing of the Pavilion’s Music Room made by John Nash in the 1820s, four of the models line the walls, while two stand either side of the fireplace.

A large model of a pagoda with a height of 276 cm, decorated in underglaze blue and overglazed polychrome enamels, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Similar blue and white pagodas, with sides painted to imitate brick walls, are in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and the Winterthur Museum in Winterthur, Delaware.