A family history, a status symbol and a masterpiece of Chinese craftsmanship — all captured on a single piece of porcelain. That's the enduring appeal of armorial porcelain, which is now capturing the spotlight courtesy of the China Maritime Museum's latest exhibition.

Making their Shanghai debut, a curated assortment of cultural relics from Tianjin Museum is on display at the exhibition titled Fashion and the World Reflected in Eighteenth-Century Armorial Porcelain. It offers a glimpse into the artistry behind exported Chinese porcelain and the stories told through Europe's family coats of arms, which recorded people's family lineage, marriage alliances, and inheritance.

The exhibition features an armorial porcelain plate once owned by former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. [Photo/China Maritime Museum]

Among the exhibition's highlights is a Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) piece of armorial porcelain once owned by former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The plate bears the combined coat of arms of two families at its center to commemorate their marriage alliance and is framed by ruyi motifs (auspicious Chinese ornaments) and exquisitely rendered flowers and birds.

If you go

When: July 10-Oct 12

Where: No 197 Shen'gang Avenue

Ticket prices:

Adults: 30 yuan ($4.4)

Students and teachers: 15 yuan

Seniors (aged 60-64): 10 yuan

Free admission for: Seniors aged 65 and above; as well as children under the age of 6 or less than 1.4 meters in height.