India, Japan, or China? The Complex Origins of Chinese Lacquered Luso-Asian Objects in the Scope of the Jesuit Missions in Asia

The adaptation of indigenous crafts to the tastes and needs of European trade and missionary activities in 16th and 17th century Asia, inspired multi-disciplinary research of the inconsistent characteristics of a group of East Asian lacquered Luso-Asian items. The striking results revise our understanding of the commission and circulation of these artifacts, which can now be assigned to Chinese craftsmen in the service of Catholic Europeans. Notable are the religious articles that mimic Japanese nanban ornamental schemes but employ Chinese traditional techniques and motifs. Indicating a stylistic confluence within the framework of the Jesuit missions, they point to the Portuguese base of Macau—the strategic center of Jesuit activities and refuge of many Christians after their expulsion from Japan.