Sold Ceramics - Sold Famille Rose wares 1725-1800 - Tea, Coffee and Chocolate wares - Page 2

Object 201021

Saucer

China

1730-1740

Height 18 mm (0.71 inch), diameter of rim 103 mm (4.06 inch), diameter of footring 60 mm (2.36 inch)

Saucer on footring, slightly everted rim. Decorated in various famille rose and famille verte enamels with a central peach and a finger-lemon fruit also called 'Buddha's-hand citron' (Citrus medica), on the sides and rim various flower heads and flower sprays. The reverse is undecorated.

The fingered-lemon or 'Buddha's-hand citron' (Citrus medica) is a small, open citrus with distinctive fruit, native to the foothills of the Himalayas. Around 320 BC, Greeks and Romans used the fruit as a source of fragrance and the leaves as a moth repellent. The fruit has also been used for centuries to perfume clothes and rooms, as ornaments in religious ceremonies and is appreciated for its medicinal qualities." This explains why the Chinese treated it as a precious decorative object in the old days. When the pomegranate ripens it opens up and exposes lots of seeds inside. Chinese people like its pretty appearance, signifying many offspring /children to come. (I am indebted to Mr S. Fan for this information)

Condition: A frit and three very tiny fleabites to the rim.

References:

Jacquemart & Le Blant 1862, pp. 77-105

Jörg 2003/2, cat. 8

Price: Sold.