Also since the Yuan dynasty, a considerable number of blue-and-white porcelain objects have exemplified influences from the continental Silk Road, and object types, such as large chargers, were made for the Middle Eastern market and distributed through an international trade network. These specimens are sometimes decorated with Arabic and Persian inscriptions and decorative patterns indigenous to Persia and the Ottoman Empire. Other objects are painted with East Asian floral and animal motifs for export to Japan, Korea and South East Asia. 

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Since the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), Chinese blue-and-white ceramics have stimulated local porcelain production abroad, while kilns in Japan, Thailand and Vietnam—as well as across Italy, France, Germany and the Low Countries in Europe—imitated imported Chinese examples in shape, size and decoration. Both the desire for Chinese porcelain objects and the inability of foreign nations to manufacture products of a similar high quality stimulated the Chinese to design and produce ceramics specifically for export—vessels and other decorative items that were stylistically different from those made for the domestic market.

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​Large quantities of bowls and dishes with underglaze blue decorations and brown glazes were produced at Jingdezhen during the early eighteenth century. Made by adding high concentrations of iron oxide (usually in the form of iron filings) to the glaze during the firing process, porcelain wares of this type were referred to as ‘Batavian ware’, after the Dutch port in Indonesia through which they were shipped. This group was recovered from the Nanking Cargo, the wreck of a Dutch East India Company ship which left Canton in December 1751. It carried more than 230,000 pieces of porcelain, textiles and tea for the European market.

「絲綢之路」亦對元青花影響深遠，其中如大盤等器型，近似中東器物樣式，為當時出口中東的外銷瓷器，以跨國貿易模式送至當地。此外，阿拉伯、波斯以及奧斯曼帝國的銘文和圖樣，均成為常見紋飾；而東亞地區常見的花卉、動物圖案，則見於出口到日本、韓國（高麗）和東南亞國家的器物。

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自明朝起（1368–1644年），中國青花瓷開始帶動了其他國家的本地製瓷業，日本、泰國、越南，遠至義大利、法國、德國及歐洲低地諸國均嘗試模仿從中國進口的青花瓷，參考其器型、大小和紋飾。然而，當時海外瓷器的製作水平未及中國，故進口瓷器需求依然殷切，促使中國大量生產外銷瓷器。為迎合海外市場，不少外銷瓷器的器型和紋飾設計風格有別於內銷瓷器。

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​18世紀初期，景德鎮製造了大量青花和黑褐釉的碗和碟。所謂黑褐釉，即於燒製時把高濃度的氧化鐵（鐵屑）加入釉中。而黑褐釉主要是通過位於印尼的荷蘭港口進行外銷，故又名「巴達維亞瓷」。此批南京瓷器是為1751年12月，一艘離開廣東，屬於荷蘭東印度船隻在沈船後打撈而得的。船上曾載有超過供23萬件送往歐洲市場的瓷器、布料和茶葉。