312.
PLATES (FIVE)
PORCELAIN DECORATED IN POLYCHROME ENAMELS AND
GOLD
QING DYNASTY (1644–1911), CA. 1720–1725
HEIGHT 3 CM; RIM DIAMETER 21.5 TO 21.7 CM;
FOOT RING DIAMETER 11.1 TO 11.3 CM
INV. NO. 654
Five circular plates with a deep, slightly
rounded well, a wide, everted flat rim,
and a low tapering foot. Finely potted in
white porcelain and coated with a bluish
glaze, except for the foot ring, which
turned orange on exposure to the kiln
atmosphere.
Decorated in iron red, black, green,
aubergine and yellow enamels and gold.
The rims filled with a border of
chrysanthemum flowerheads on a
honeycomb ground, reserved with four lobed
white panels enclosing a bat among clouds.
In the centre of each plate, enclosed within
a border of stylized flower buds a scene
related to the shareholders theme on the
previous plates, depicted in a different style
and palette and without Dutch text.
In each, a
commedia dell’arte
figure,
wearing green, yellow, aubergine and grey
clothes, stands on a floor of black, grey
and salmon-coloured tiles, between an
elaborate Chinese looking curtained canopy
and a gaming table, painted in iron red, grey
and gold. The figures seen on these pieces
are similar to those on the previous plates,
bearing the inscriptions:
- Wie op Uÿtrecht of nieuw Amsterdam
(inv. no. 654/1)
- 50 per cent op Delft gewonnen
(inv. no.
654/2)
- De Actiemars op de tang
(inv. no. 654/3)
- Pardie al mÿn Actien Kwÿt
(inv. no. 654/4)
- Schÿt Actien en windhandel
(inv. no. 654/5)
Of the three known sets decorated with
the shareholders theme, this one is the
rarest.
A plate similar to inventory no. 654/3 is in
the Musées royaux d’Art et d’Histoire,
Brussels, 1 another one similar to inventory
no. 654/2 is in the Redor collection, Nantes, 2
and another one identical to inventory no.
654/4 is in the D. F. Lunsingh Scheurleer
collection, The Hague. 3
Provenance:
Dish inv. no. 654/1: François Hervouët Collection
Dish inv. no. 654/3: L. Luneau, Nantes
François Hervouët Collection
Published:
Hervouët and Bruneau, 1986, pp. 218-19, nos. 9.67
(inv. no. 654/1) and 9.69 (inv. no. 654/3)
1 Jörg, 1989, pp. 118-19, no. 35.
2 Hervouët and Bruneau
,
ibid., p. 219, no. 9.68.
3 Idem, ibid, p. 219, no. 9.70.
212 .
CHINESE PORCELAIN WITH WESTERN DECORATION