Chinese porcelain was already known in the Netherlands before 1600 thanks to trade with Portugal and the voyages of the so-called pre-companies (voorcompagnieën) to Asia, but it was a scarce and expensive product. The auctions of porcelain seized from two captured Portuguese ships, the São Tiago in 1602 in Middelburg and the Santa Catarina in 1604 in Amsterdam marked a turning point: suddenly a relatively large quantity of porcelain became available for an interested public with money to spend. Since then, Chinese, and later Japanese porcelain, has been a constant presence in the material culture of the Northern Netherlands.
