In the 17th century the masters of the seas came from the small and densely populated country of the Netherlands; and it was the Dutch too who brought porcelain out of the curio cabinets of princes, dukes and nobles, and onto the dining tables of rich merchants and even the middle classes.
十七世紀風裡來、浪裡去，在海上當家作主的，是地窄人稠的荷蘭；把中國瓷器從王公貴冑的多寶格裡帶上富商巨賈，甚至中產階級餐桌上的，也是荷蘭人。