East India trade refers to the long-distance commerce between Europe and Asia carried on from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century, chiefly by chartered trading companies such as the English East India Company, founded in 1600, and the Dutch East India Company, known as the VOC, founded in 1602. French, Danish, Swedish and other companies also took part.
This trade transformed European taste and material culture. Ships returned with spices, tea, silk, printed and painted cottons, lacquer, fans, wallpaper and vast quantities of Chinese and Japanese porcelain, much of it made specifically for export. Families commissioned armorial dinner services painted in China with their coats of arms, and the demand for tea created a market for tea caddies, tea tables and porcelain tea wares. Asian goods inspired European imitation, from delftware and Chinoiserie furniture to English porcelain and printed cottons. Objects associated with the trade, including export porcelain, shipwreck cargoes, Anglo-Indian furniture and company memorabilia, are widely collected. Provenance and documentation, such as a known ship, cargo or family commission, can add significantly to the interest and value of a piece, as can good condition and fine decoration.
