Sydney punchbowls porcelain was decorated with a combination of Chinese patterns and Western motifs selected by its commissioner. The Chinese manufacturers sent porcelain samples of decorations to their prospective clients in Europe and the United States and their clients provided the porcelain painters in China with paintings, drawings or sketches for their orders. These dinner wares are categorized into "familles" (French for "families") mainly by the colors they are painted in such as famille verte, noire, jaune and rose. These sets of tableware included all the dishes necessary to set a grand table for a gala dinner. A 1766 order form from
Chelsea porcelain factory at least in the early period. The annual actions were partly intended for the chinamen, with some lots made up of a range of wares to provide a stock. The East India Company had been selling its cargos of East Asian porcelain at auction for some decades. Chelsea wares reached British America, but there were probably few exports to the Continent. Early English porcelain was soon being collected, especially in the late 19th century, when prices rose steadily. Over the 20th century there has been a great reversal in collectors' interests, with wares from later in the century far cheaper