Recent Acquisitions
On this page you'll find my latest acquisitions, It may, however, take some time for all objects to load.
This way you can quickly browse through my recently acquired objects without having to browse through all the various categories.
After four weeks each object in 'Recent Acquisitions' will be moved to their specific category.
Latest update; October 16, 2018.
Blue and White Kangxi Period 1662-1722 - Other wares
Object 2012190
Bowl
China
1700-1720
Height 74 mm (2.91 inch), diameter of rim 126 mm (4.96 inch), diameter of footring 52 mm (2.05 inch), weight 191 grams (6.74 ounce (oz.))
Bowl or klapmuts on footring, spreading flat rim with a scalloped edge. Decorated in underglaze blue. On the outside four panels alternately decorated with a flowering plant growing from a taihu (garden)rock and precious objects. On the bottom a flowering plant and on the sides four panels each filled with flowering plant. On the reverse rim four florets between scrolls. Marked on the base with the symbol mark: 'Artemisia leaf', symbol for healing and wealth, in a double circle in underglaze blue.
The shape and the outside decoration resemble those of Kraak Porselein klapmutsen of the first half of the 17th century. When the export trade was resumed in the 1680s and the Dutch became good customers again, there was a tendency to revive the traditional Kraak porcelain shapes and the style of painting with decoration arranged in wide and narrow panels. Some pieces are more or less close imitations, others, like this bowl, are hybrids, combining some Kraak characteristics with the new Kangxi patterns. Most examples are painted in underglaze blue, but the type is also known from a few, rare famille verte pieces. The fashion was short lived as new shapes and decorations soon took over. The Yu, "jade", character mark is traditionally called the F-mark in the Netherlands and is very common on good-quality blue and white Kangxi export porcelain. (Jörg & Van Campen 1997, p.105 & p.115)
For similarly shaped and decorated bowls, please see:
- Kraak porcelain. A moment in the history of trade, (M. Rinaldi, Bamboo Publishing Ltd, London 1989), p.232, Pl.295.
- Chinese Ceramics in the Collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, The Ming and Qing Dynasties, (C.J.A. Jörg in collaboration with J. van Campen, Phlip Wilson in association with The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, London 1997), pp.104-105, cat. 98.
-
Sold Ceramics - Sold Blue and White Kangxi Period 1662-1722 - Other wares - Page 1 - Object 2010571.
Condition: A firing flaw to the footring. Two fleabites and some frits to the rim. A chip to the reverse rim and a hairline to the rim.
References:
Jörg & Van Campen 1997, cat. 98, p.105 & p.115
Price: € 299 - $ 346 - £ 261
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Japanese Blue and White wares 17th Century - Dishes
Object 2012189
Dish
Japan
1680-1700
Height:51 mm (2.01 inch), diameter of rim 320 mm (12.60 inch), diameter of footring 150 mm (5.91 inch), weight 1,110 grams (39.15 ounce (oz.))
Dish on footring, flat rim. On the base five spur-marks in a X-pattern. Decorated in underglaze blue with a flower basket on a low table on a fenced terrace filled with a blossoming prunus. On the sides and rim large panels filled with stylised peonies and precious objects alternating filled with knotted tassels between a scale pattern ground. The reverse is undecorated.
The decoration was copied from Chinese kraak porcelain, although, as usual, it is simplified on such imitations. This style is characteristic of early Japanese export porcelain made for the VOC to replace the well-known Chinese kraak and Transitional wares. Polychrome versions were made as well. (Jörg 2003/1, p.27)
Condition: Firing flaws to the centre and to the rim and some spots with discolouration of the glaze on the front and to the reverse.
Reference:
Price: € 499 - $ 575 - £ 439
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Chinese wares over-decorated in the West 1700-1800 - Dutch over-decorated Amsterdams Bont - Kakiemon Designs
Object 2012188
Dish
China
1730-1750, over-decorated in the Netherlands, Amsterdams Bont, c.1740
Height 30 mm (0.91 inch), diameter of rim 165 mm (6.50 inch), diameter of footring 84 mm (3.31 inch), weight 183 grams (6.46 ounce (oz.))
Dish on footring, slightly everted rim. Undecorated. Over-decorated, in a Kakiemon-style, in iron-red, black, green and other overglaze enamels, in the Netherlands, Amsterdams Bont, c.1740 with an underglaze brown-edged rim, in the centre a flowering branch in between two brushwood fences and two birds in flight. On the sides two wide spread groups of flowering prunus, pine and bamboo plants issuing from a rocky mound. The reverse is undecorated. Marked on the base with, pseudo-Chinese characters painted in overglaze iron-red.
Decorated with a stylised rendering of the 'Three Friends' pattern round the border. This in combined with a central pattern in which Kakiemon features are combined in an un-Japanese way, filling the space but without the Japanese sense of space being part of the composition. While the banded hedge, the birds and bamboo leaves are in classic Kakiemon style, the strange bold flowers have no readily traceable Japanese counterpart and seem rather to be a European invention which combines elements of a pomegranate fruit and a hibiscus flower. This pattern with variations according to the size of the object, is known on several plates, dishes and a bowl in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The dishes in the Ashmolean Museum have a decorator's mark of pseudo Chinese characters in red enamel on the base indicating that they were decorated in the same workshop. (Espir 2005, pp.87-88)
The hedge of rice straw, known as a 'banded hedge' because of the ties binding it together, is one of the trademarks of Kakiemon design as are flying and perching birds, tigers and the bamboo leaves on the ground, Tigers both fierce and playful, feature prominently in kakiemon designs. Painted in yellow, red and blue with black-stripes, they crouch and snarl and prepare to leap after prey such as the bird perched on the bamboo tree. (Espir 2005, p.82)
The four pseudo-Chinese characters on the base are, most likely, made up by the Dutch Amsterdams Bont over-decorator. Important was to create an Oriental effect, the 'chinoiserie'.
For an identically, over-decorated in Kakiemon style, dish, please see:
Condition: A shallow glaze frit to the reverse rim.
Reference:
Espir 2005, p.82, pp.87-88 & cat.19
Price: € 399 - $ 461 - £ 354
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Chine de commande - Armorial / Pseudo-Armorial wares 1700-1800 - Pseudo-Armorial
Object 2012187
Teacup and saucer
China
1765-1775
Provenance: Van der Ven & Van der Ven Antiquairs, 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands.
Height of teacup 39 mm (1.54 inch), diameter of rim 65 mm (2.56 inch), diameter of footring 31 mm (1.22 inch), weight 37 grams (1.31 ounce (oz.))
Height of saucer 26 mm (1.02 inch), diameter of rim 106 mm (4.17 inch), diameter of footring 61 mm (2.40 inch), weight 62 grams (2.19 ounce (oz.))
Teacup and saucer on footrings, straight rims. Polychrome decorated in iron-red, black and green overglaze enamels and gold. In the centre there are two monogrammed ovals linked above by a knotted ribbon with a tassel, surrounded by palms and garlands. In the dexter oval, gilt letters are painted in handwriting with the initials 'PR', the sinister oval has the initial's 'CVE'. Below the ovals, in the middle, an animal's head. On the sides four groups of flowering branches. Round the rim a border with leafy branches and flower heads. The reverse is undecorated. The teacup is decorated en suite. On the base of the saucer a rectangular silver paper dealers label with the printed text: 'VAN DER VEN & VAN DER VEN ANTIQUAIRS 'S-Hertogenbosch CHINEES PORSELEIN CH'IEN LUNG PERIODE 1736 - 1795'.
Much Chinese export porcelain made for the Dutch market has a pseudo-armorial character, the most notable and largest group being monogrammed porcelain. Monograms are initials, often finely painted in the shape of a mirror monogram or cipher. A mirror monogram is a design of a monogram where the letters are reversed to make mirror images to produce an ornamental form. The word cipher is more or less synonymous with mirror monogram the with the emphasis on encrypting text with a combination of symbolic letters in an entwined weaving of letters.
Monograms and ciphers are mainly personal as opposed to coats of arms that beside by individuals can also be borne by whole families and communities. Pseudo-armorials are those emblems and signs which only resemble a coat of arm by using heraldic components such as a shield shape and/or banners, spears, flying angels etc. that surround the monogram or cipher. (Kroes 2007, p.56)
Condition teacup: A hairline to the rim.
Condition saucer: Perfect.
Reference:
Price: € 299 - $ 352 - £ 266
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Zhangzhou (Swatow) wares 1570-1650 - Jarlets
Object 2011775
Jarlet
(Southeast) China, Zhangzhou (Swatow)
1570-1650
Height 55 mm (2.17 inch), diameter 53 mm (2.08 inch), diameter of rim 17 mm (0,66 inch), diameter of footring 31 mm (1.22 inch), weight (including mounts) 83 grams (2.93 ounce (oz.))
Jarlet on a flat unglazed base with an angled shoulder and a short upright neck. Crackled glaze. Fitted with unmarked Indonesian silver engraved mounts round the foot and rim. Decorated in underglaze blue with two cartouches containing a flower separated by a scale or concentric waves pattern. Around the shoulder a lotus leaf pattern border.
These jarlets, supposedly made as containers for the export of oil and ointments in small quantities to consumers all over Southeast Asia, were mass-produced over centuries. As empties, they were part of every kitchen. With the passage of time, they became heirlooms and antiquities of small value. (Harrison 1979, p.81)
These jarlets were unearthed in large quantities particularly in Indonesia. These kind of jarlets were mass-produced over centuries and are very common in Southeast Asia where they, apart from being used as burial objects, were used for medicines, unguents and cosmetics. (Rinaldi 1989, pp.88-91)
According to Adhyatman, the smaller jarlets were used in former times as containers of medicine. (Adhyatman 1999, pp.28-29)
This jarlet probably had an Indonesian provenance and was collected by a (former) owner when he or she lived in the Dutch East Indies. The mounts, enhancing the shape, indicate the value such pieces had in local Indonesian communities, where they were often regarded as pusaka, holy and venerated heirlooms. (Jörg 2003/1, p.65)
For similarly decorated jarlets, please see:
- The Ceramic Art of China and other Countries of the Far East, (W.B. Honey, Faber & Faber Limited, London 1944), Plate 147 (e).
- Zhangzhou (Swatow) Ceramics. Sixteenth to Seventeenth Centuries Found in Indonesia, (S. Adhyatman, The Ceramic Society of Indonesia, 1999), p.122, cat.150.
Condition: Perfect.
References:
Harrisson 1979, p.81 & cat. 164
Adhyatman 1999, pp.28-29 & cat. 150
Price: € 149 - $ 172 - £ 133
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Shipwreck Porcelains - The Diana Cargo, 1817
Object 2010997
Glazed toy figure
China
c.1816
Provenance: The Diana Cargo sale, Christie's Amsterdam, 6-7 March 1995
Height 63 mm (2.48 inch), dimensions 43 mm (1.69 inch) x 25 mm (0.98 inch), weight 40 grams (1.41 ounce (oz.))
Glazed toy figure of a 'happy couple' straw glazed with scattered green and dark spots. On the toy figure the original 'Christie's Diana Cargo March 1995' sale lot 1009/10 label proving it has been one of 10 toy figures sold in lot 1009.
Ball states that of the 877 terracotta statues, animal statue predominated. There were crowing cocks, seated dogs, paddling ducks, horses and buffalo. The finest one of all was the boy on a buffalo. Amazingly, the paint had survived on many of them and apart from their desirability for reasons of religion or superstition, they would make attractive display pieces too. The objects were especially popular with the more superstitious southern Chinese communities in Guandong, Fujian, and Zhejiary provinces; and little secular groups. Figures were normally carried as "private" cargo, not in bulk; but there is evidence that there were several hundred on Diana, so maybe the Madrassi principals thought it was worth experimenting with the local markets in India. The Chinese never regarded ceramic sculptures as a serious art form. Unlike Western potters, who were excited by trying to recreate in a ceramic medium the achievements of the European stone and wood sculptural tradition, the Chinese made pottery and porcelain figures as a very cheap substitute only for other media like stone, wood or even ivory and soapstone) in Fujian province'. Ceramic figures never formed the bulk part of a cargo coming back from the West+ except for a brief period a century before Diana, when blanc de Chine figures became sufficiently popular for large quantities to be shipped from a temporary entrepôt at Amoy. Apart from that moment, Diana tells us, more than any other excavated ship's cargo, about what figures the Chinese were producing, and what was popular abroad even when largely divorced from their original context. (Ball 1995, pp.145-149)
In total 212 glazed toy figures (of which 66 'happy couple' figures) were sold divided over the lots: 989-1013. (Amsterdam 1995)
Condition: Some loss of glaze due to to submergence in sea water.
References:
Amsterdam 1995, p.120, lot 989-1013
Price: € 299 - $ 347 - £ 270
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Japanese Imari 1690-1800 - 'Gold' Imari
Object 2010C309
Cuspidor / spittoon
Japan
1700-1720
Height 79 mm (3.11 inch), diameter of scale 140 mm (inch), diameter of footring 45 mm (1.77 inch), weight 283 grams (9.98 ounce (oz.))
Cuspidor or spittoon on high flattened footring. Small, globular body with curved handle. Very short narrow neck, the upper part shaped as a bowl with wide flaring sides. Gold Imari, decorated in iron-red, a pink-wash and gold. On the body two flowering peony sprays. Inside the upper part three pairs of quails amongst millet and flowering double camellia’s and carnations. Between each pair a flying bird. The outside of the bowl is plain. On the handle a single flower spray.
Besides dinner services, covered jars, tea, coffee and chocolate sets, decorated in 'Gold' Imari with this design, other utilitarian or luxury items, like this cuspidor, were also ordered after a Western model. These items also included cylindrical beer mugs, barbers' bowls, and chamber-pots, all of which can be considered Japon de commande.
Cuspidors or spittoons were indispensable in the interior especially in the East Indies where both tobacco and betel nuts were chewed. Volker mentions Japanese porcelain and copper cuspidors in the lodges of the merchants on Deshima for 1701 and 1702. Excavations at the Deshima site yielded shards of several examples, also proving their use there.
For two identically shaped Japanese spittoons in Imari and underglaze blue and white, please see;
- Fine & Curious. Japanese Export Porcelain in Dutch Collections, (C.J.A. Jörg, Hotei Publishing, Amsterdam, 2003), p.167, cat. 195.
- The Voyage of Old-Imari Porcelains, (Kyushu Ceramic Museum, Arita 2000), p. 187, cat. 163.
Dutch metal or earthenware cuspidors will have served as models; very similar spittoons are known in Delftware, dating to the late 17th-early 18th century.
For an identically shaped white Delft example, dated 1675-90, please see;
However, the same shape has been known in Chinese ceramics since the Tang period (please click here), also serving as a vase for a lotus flower and since ancient times in Japan as well. So which model actually came first is hard to say.
The VOC documents make no mention of Company shipments or orders for cuspidors/spittoons and they must therefore have been shipped privately. Cuspidors/spittoons were made in a number of Arita kilns, such as Chokichidani, Tani and Shimoshirakawa. (Volker 1959, pp.28-29), (Jörg 2003/1, p.166)
The doll’s house of Petronella Oortman (1656-1716), c.1686 - c.1710, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, inv.nr. BK-NM-1010. Two spittoons are standing beside the table and chairs. (Picture courtesy : judithsgarden.eu)
The quail, closely allied to the partridge, is an emblem of courage both in China and Japan, as it is highly esteemed as a fighting bird. On Japanese porcelain they are frequently depicted amidst autumn grasses under millet. In North China people made these birds fight under a basket where millet first had been strewn to make them jealous. This quail and millet design, symbolizing the autumn, is especially common on Kakiemon, but is also found on ko Kutani, Imari and blue-and-white wares. Jenyns mentions it has been suggested that that the quail and millet design was based upon work of the painter Tosa Mitsuoki (1617-1691) and that it was certainly one of his favourite subjects.
Tosa Mitsuoki (1617-91), quails and millet, detail of scroll painting on silk with ink and colour paint, ca. 1655 - ca. 1681, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, inv.nr. AK-MAK-168, © Rijksmuseum Amsterdam 2018
Jenyns thinks however the design could also originate from Chinese album paintings of the Song period, which can be found in early Japanese collections, for example from an artist such as Li An Chung, who specialized in birds, particularly quails and worked in the second half of the 12th century (Jenyns 1979, p. 130; Arts 1983, pp.134-135).
This motif has also been widely copied on European porcelain, especially at Bow and Chelsea where it is used as a decoration on the so-called 'partridge plates', but also on Delftware and porcelain from Chantilly and Meissen (Ayers, Impey & Mallet 1990, pp. 296-303).
For identically decorated objects, please see:
- Japanese porcelain. A collector's guide to general aspects and decorative motifs, (P.L.W. Arts, De Tijdstroom, Lochem, 1983), pp.134-135, Plate 80.
- Imari-Porzellan am Hofe der Kaiserin Maria Theresia, exhibition catalogue (Hetjens-Museum, Düsseldorf, 2000), p.49, cat. 10.
- The Voyage of Old-Imari Porcelains, (Kyushu Ceramic Museum, Arita 2000), cat. 81 t/m 84
- Japanese Export Porcelain. Catalogue of the Collection of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, (O. Impey, Hotei Publishing, Amsterdam, 2002), pp.249-250, cat. 443, 444 & 445.
- Fine & Curious. Japanese Export Porcelain in Dutch Collections, (C.J.A. Jörg, Hotei Publishing, Amsterdam, 2003), pp.115-117, cat. 123 & 124, & p.201, cat. 256.
Also several other identically decorated objects, please see:
- Japanese 'Gold' Imari 1690-1800 - Object 2012036.
- Japanese 'Gold' Imari 1690-1800 - Object 2012034.
- Sold Ceramics - Sold Japanese 'Gold' Imari 1690-1800 - Object 2011745 & Object 2011746.
- Sold Ceramics - Sold Japanese 'Gold' Imari 1690-1800 - Object 2011444.
- Sold Ceramics - Sold Japanese 'Gold' Imari 1690-1800 - Object 2010574.
- Sold Ceramics - Sold Japanese 'Gold' Imari 1690-1800 - Object 2010673.
Condition: A tiny firing flaw to the underside of the handle.
References:
Arts 1983, pp. 134-135, plate 80
Ayers, Impey & Mallet 1990, pp. 296-303, cat. 358 t/m 372
Arita 2000, cat. 81 t/m 84 & cat.162/163
Düsseldorf 2000, p. 49 cat. 10
Jörg 2003/1, pp. 115-117, cat. 123 & 124,p. 166 cat. 192, p. 167 cat. 195, p. 201 cat. 256.
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands,
inv.nr. BK-NM-1010 & inv.nr. AK-MAK-168
Price: € 999 - $ 1,137 - £ 894
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Japanese Tea, Coffee and Chocolate wares 18th Century
Object 2012169
Coffee pot
Japan
1700-1720
Height with cover 345 mm (13.58 inch), height without cover 291 mm (11.46 inch), diameter handle to spout 265 mm (10.43 inch), diameter of mouthrim 83 mm (3.27 inch), diameter of footring 154 mm (6.06 inch), weight with cover 1,834 grams (64.69 ounce (oz.)), weight cover 160 grams (5.64 ounce (oz.))
Coffee pot of conical shape on three flat modelled feet. Curved, flat pireced handle, domed cover with pointed knob and loop ring (intended for a chain between the top of the handle and the loop ring on the cover. The hole for the mounted Dutch brass tap in the lower part is surrounded by a kiku-flower moddelled in low relief. Kenjo-Imari, decorated in underglaze blue, iron-red, green and gold. Six shaped panels outlined in underglaze blue and filled with foled leaves or a stylised, symmetrical flowering plant. In between on an iron-red ground a stylised flower head in underglaze blue and stylised leaves and flowers in gold. Round the foot a border with flower heads and scrolls and round the rim a border with waves and clouds. On the handle and feet stylised scrolls with leaves and flowers. The cover is decorated en suite.
As was the case with tea, it was not until the end of the 17th century that drinking coffee became popular in Europe. each town had his own coffee house, where everyone - which in fact meant mainly men - could enjoy drinking a cup of coffee. The Dutch East India Company, (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC), started off mainly importing coffee from Yemen, experimenting only later with plantations of their own in Java.
However, drinking coffee had for centuries already been a common practice in the Middle East. European coffee pots were therefore often modelled after Islamic copper examples. Two types of coffee pots were most frequently commissioned in Asian porcelain: conical and belly-shaped. The conical shaped pot originally came from Japan. After brewed coffee was poured into this luxurious porcelain pot, it was held warm on a stand and subsequently served through a metal tap which had later been added to the pot after it had been imported to the Netherlands. At the bottom of the pot the coffee grounds were collected. Coffee pots from China, where both types were made, don't feature a tap but a spout. (The World at Home, exhibition Groninger Museum 17 june 2017 - 31 march 2019)
A distinctive style of formally-painted, almost Baroque-looking pieces with broad areas of strong, dark enemal is referred to in Japan as kenjo-Imari ('presentation-Imari'). (Ayers, Impey & Mallet 1990, p.211)
Coffee pots, usually three-legged, are common in blue-and-white and in enamelled Imari. usually there is one hole left for a tap to be fitted in Europe, occasionally there are three. (Ayers, Impey & Mallet 1990, p.213)
For an identically shaped, sized and decorated Coffee pot, please see;
Condition: A chip to the rim and restored cover and feet.
References:
Ayers, Impey & Mallet 1990, p.211 & p.213
Price: Sold.
Japanese Tea, Coffee and Chocolate wares 18th Century
Object 2011367
Teapot
Japan
1700-1720
Height with cover 84 mm (3.31 inch), height without cover 70 mm (2.76 inch), diameter handle to spout 125 mm (4.92 inch), diameter of mouthrim 31 mm (1.22 inch), diameter of foot 44 mm (1.73 inch), weight with cover 120 grams (4.23 ounce (oz.)), weight cover 11 grams (0.39 ounce (oz.))
Globular teapot on circular flat unglazed base, curved handle, slightly bent spout. Flat cover with round knob. Imari decorated in underglaze blue, iron-red and gold with three kidney-shaped panels, two filled with flowering plants and a bird in flight and one with a river scape. In between the panels flower sprays. Round the foot a silk worm-pattern border in gold on an underglaze blue ground. On the pierced shoulder a zig-zag lines-pattern border in gold on an underglaze blue ground. and on the cover a chrysanthemum flower head outlined in gold on an underglaze blue ground. The cover is decorated en suite.
Condition: A horizontal firing tension glaze hairline, caused during the firing process, just onder the handle and a tiny restored spot to the tip of the spout
Price: Sold.
Kakiemon / Kakiemon style wares - Kakiemon style wares
Object 2012183
Dish
Japan
1670-1700
Height 28 mm (1.10 inch), diameter of rim 193 mm (7.60 inch), diameter of footring 116 mm (4.57 inch), weight 308 grams (10.86 ounce (oz.))
Dish on footring. On the base five spur-marks in an X-pattern. Decorated in Kakiemon type enamels. In the centre with a Hó-ó bird, standing on one leg, on rockwork flanked by flowering peony and chrysanthemum plants in iron-red and yellow enanel, within a double circle in underglaze blue. On the sides four groups of rocks with flowering plants. On the reverse a continuous spray in underglaze blue. Round the foot an underglaze blue line, on the base a wide circle in underglaze blue.
In Japan the bird on the rock, the Hó-ó, is a mythological animal, emblematic of imperial authority. It is considered a symbol of wisdom, strength and also an inhabitant of the Buddhist Paradise. According to legend it would perch only on a kiri- or Paulownia Imperialis tree (Chinese: Wu t’ung). Carving the wood of the kiri is an art form in Japan and China. Several Asian string instruments are made from it, including the Japanese koto. The leaves and blossom of the Paulownia Imperialis became the official crest (mon) of the Empress of Japan. The kiri tree is emblematic of rectitude (Arts 1983, p.133 & 149)
According to Fitski Kakiemon production can be divided into two groups: pieces made in Nangawara which we call 'Kakiemon' and pieces made in Uchiyama, for which we use the appellation 'Kakiemon style'. This dish is representative of a group of pieces, mainly dishes, without the milky-white nigoshide body which is the main characteristic of Kakiemon. In this case, the porcelain is greyish with some impurities or kiln grit on the front and back. Such pieces were not made by the Kakiemon kiln, but by contemporary competitors and are therefore referred to as Kakiemon style. (Jörg 2003/1, p.75 & cat. 62), (Fitski 2011, pp.70-71, p. 90 & p.97)
For an identically, shaped, sized and decorated sold dish, please see:
For an almost identically, in Kakiemon style, decorated dish with two instead of one Hó-ó birds, please see:
For similarly Uchiyama made and in 'Kakiemon style' decorated dishes, please see:
- Kakiemon Porcelain. A Handbook, (M. Fitski, Leiden / Amsterdam, 2011), pp.96-100, cat 108, 109 & 110.
- Chinese and Japanese porcelain for the Dutch Golden Age, (J. van Campen & T. Eliëns ed., Waanders Publishers in collaboration with Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Groninger Museum, Keramiekmuseum Princessehof Leeuwarden, Zwolle 2014, p.148, Fig. 16.
Condition: Firing flaws to the rim and centre.
References:
Fitski 2011, pp.70-71, p.90 & p.97, cat. 108, 109 & 110
Campen & Eliëns 2014, p.148, Fig. 16
Price: € 1.999 - $ 2,323 - £ 1,782
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Batavia Brown (Capucin wares) 1700-1800
Object 2012178
Rosewater sprinkler
China
1700-1720
Height 195 mm (7.68 inch), diameter 95 mm (3.74 inch), diameter of mouthrim 6 mm (0.24 inch), diameter of footring 46 mm (1.81 inch), weight 386 grams (13.62 ounce (oz.))
Double-gourd rosewater sprinkler with spherical body gradually tapering into a long-pointed neck on a tall, spreading foot with a deep recessed glazed base. Covered with underglaze light brown with reserved decoration in underglaze blue of fan-shaped panels filled with a riverscape and leaf-shaped panels filled with a flowering plant.
Perfumation and thurification have a very long history and can be traced back to prehistoric times. For thurification various types of incense burners were and are used until this day. For perfumation, rose-water was used that was stored and applied in specially made sprinklers. (META-Museum: Chinese Export Silver for the Islamic World, (A. von Ferscht, www.chinese-export-silver.com))
Rosewater sprinklers were often decorated in underglaze blue (see object 2012078) and sometimes the body was (partially) covered with underglaze brown (see sold object 2010213) or blue. At first, they were only exported and used as such in Batavia later on in the West they were often fitted with metal or silver mounts. In the Netherlands they served as curiosities and decorative items. (Jörg & Van Campen 1997, p136)
Condition: Perfect.
References:
Jörg & Van Campen 1997, cat. 140
Price: € 1.499 - $ 1,743 - £ 1,327
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Japanese Tea, Coffee and Chocolate wares 18th Century
Object 2010770
Teapot
Japan
1700-1720
Height with cover 102 mm (4.02 inch), height without cover 77 mm (3.03 inch), diameter handle to spout 162 mm (6.38 inch), diameter of mouthrim 42 mm (1.65 inch), diameter of footring 43 mm (1.69 inch), weight with cover 246 grams (8.68 ounce (oz.)), weight cover 37 grams (1.31 ounce (oz.))
Octagonal teapot of globular shape on octagonal footring, slightly bent spout, curved handle, domed cover. Greyish paste and greenish glaze. Imari decorated in underglaze blue, iron-red and gold with trailing floral sprays covering the whole body and cover. On the handle and spout florets and scrolls.
In the first half of the seventeenth century tea was imported to Europe as were Yixing stoneware and blanc de Chine porcelain from China. The Dutch East India Company, (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC) specially ordered blue and white porcelain pots from Jingdezhen beginning in 1639, and continued their orders when trade shifted to Japan. This teapot, decorated in the usual Imari palette with flowers and foliage, is a good example of this shifted trade. (Rotondo-McCord 1997, p.101)
For an identically shaped, sized and decorated teapot, please see;
Condition: A firing flaw to the inside wall of the teapot and a restored handle (broken at four places).
Reference:
Price: € 299 - $ 348 - £ 263
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Monochromes 1700-1900
Object 2011586
Storage jar
China
c.1700
Height 157 mm (6.18 inch), diameter 125 mm (4.92 inch), diameter of mouthrim 51 mm (2.01 inch), diameter of footring 61 mm (2.40 inch), weight 925 grams (32.63 ounce (oz.))
Conical storage jar on footring, a marked shoulder ending in a wide mouth with a low rim. Covered with a greyish / greenish glaze, undecorated. The concave base is unglazed
These types of heavily potted, sturdy storage jars were widely mass-produced in south Chinese kilns for export. The impurities of the glaze and the horizontal ribbons on the body, the result of throwing the pots on the wheel, which were not removed in a finishing stage, show the quickness and the efficiency with which these pieces were made. These type of storage jars represent a well-known type, apparently made during long stretches of time during which there is no discernible development in potting, shape and glaze. They were widely used in Southeast Asia as containers for salt and all kinds of food and liquid. Round the rim a piece of parchment, oiled paper or textile could be bound, sealing the contents. Their shape designed to store them economically in the shipholds, lying with the mouth alternatingly up or down. These storage jars were multi-purpose pieces, to be used again and again, filled with new commodities, sold and shipped to new destinations. (Jörg & Flecker 2001, pp.90-91)
Similarly shaped storage jars salvaged from the cargo of the The Vung Tau Cargo, c.1690 shipwreck.
(Reproduced from: Porcelain from the Vung Tau Wreck. The Hallstrom Excavation, (C.J.A. Jörg & M. Flecker, UK, 2001), pp.90-91, cat. 94)
Condition: Overall fine crazing to the glaze with various firing flaws, a glaze imperfection to the body and a chip to the footring.
Jörg & Flecker 2001, pp.90-91, cat. 94
Price: € 199 - $ 229 - £ 173
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Chinese wares over-decorated in the West 1700-1800 - Dutch over-decorated Amsterdams Bont wares
Object 2011150
Bowl
China
1730-1750, over-decorated in the Netherlands, Amsterdams Bont, c.1750-1770
Height 59 mm (2.32 inch), diameter of rim 112 mm (4.41 inch), diameter of footring 41 mm (1.61 inch), weight 170 grams (6.00 ounce (oz.))
Bowl on footring, steeply rounded sides and a straight rim. Decorated in underglaze blue with four groups of flowering plants, round the rim a trellis-pattern border with four reserves filled with flower sprays. On the bottom a flower spray in a concentric band and round the inner rim a single concentric band. Over-decorated in iron-red, green and black enamel and gold in the Netherlands, Amsterdams Bont, c.1750-1770 with four panels filled with a flowering plant, in between the panels leafy branches round the foot a descending lotus leaves-pattern border. On the bottom a single flower spray and on the inner wall six single flower sprays.
Condition: A firing tension hairline to the footring , a popped bubble of glaze (caused by the firing process) and two fleabites to the rim.
Price: € 99 - $ 115 - £ 86
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Japanese Blue and White wares 17th Century - Other wares - Page 1
Object 2012166
Kendi
Japan
1670-1690
Height 215 mm (8.46 inch), diameter 158 mm (6.22 inch), diameter of mouthrim 45 mm (1.77 inch), diameter of footring 85 mm (3.34 inch), weight 1,042 grams (36.76 ounce (oz.))
Kendi on footring, spout, fitted with a silver mount (unmarked), on the shoulder, long cylindrical neck ending in a splayed mouth with overturned rim. Decorated in underglaze blue with a simplified, rather sketchily painted, river scene with a bridge, a small pavilion on a shore with trees, rocks and mountains in the background. Round the shoulder a band with stripes and two broad monochrome underglaze blue bands. On the neck a simplified 'tulip' design, on the rim a floret between scrolls and on the spout floral sprays.
The tulip motif is reminiscent of Chinese Transitional designs, but the sketchily rendered river scene and the floret between scrolls are part of the established repertoire of Japanese designs.
Jörg states that the kendi is a drinking and pouring vessel widely used in Asia. Its basic shape is a bulbous body, a long neck and a tubular or breast-shaped (mammiform) spout on the shoulder. The kendi has no handle and one holds it by the neck and drinks from the spout. The kendi seems to have evolved from the Indian kundika and spread throughout Asia, changing shape and adapting to existing local vessels for similar use. Kendis of Chinese kraak porcelain of the first half of the 17th century and Japanese kendis of the second half were part of the Dutch East India Company's (VOC) porcelain assortment for the inter-Asian trade. Apparently, they also reached The Netherlands in small quantities, probably as part of the belongings of retiring VOC employees. They were not used according to their traditional function in The Netherlands and must only have been decorative items or were filled with flowers as shown on paintings. Kendis were not used in Japan (or China) and were made exclusively for export in Arita from the 1660s. Kendis usually have a smooth body, but Japanese potters frequently made a variety that is vertically ribbed by moulding the piece. Another characteristic of Japanese kendis is the broad overturned mouthrim, seen less often in Chinese pieces.
Arts states that the gorgelet (Portuguese: gorgoletta) or ghendi of the Japanese was originally a drinking vessel in general use everywhere in Asian countries. The porcelain form originated during the Ming period probably from a far older earthenware prototype. Later on, after the habit of tobacco-smoking appeared in Asia at the beginning of the 17th century, it was also used as a nargileh base in many Mohammadan countries. The VOC registers indicate that ghendi were made by the Japanese more or less from the beginning, as an imitation of the Chinese examples. In 1669 Begal ordered from Deshima twenty large and small ghendi. The biggest market was South East Asia. In 1671 Chinese junks carried a consignment of 700 Japanese-made ghendi from Deshima to Batavia and another 600 in the following year.
Comparison between object 2012166 and a similar model made of copper. (the coper model is not included in this sale/offer)
For similarly decorated kendis, please see:
- Japans porselein met blauwe decoraties uit de tweede helft van de zeventiende en de eerste helft van de achttiende eeuw, (D.F. Lunsingh Scheurleer, in, Mededelingenblad Nederlandse Vereniging van Vrienden van de Ceramiek, vols. 64/65, 1971), p.108, cat. 172.
- Aziatische Ceramiek uit vijf eeuwen, (D.F. Lunsingh Scheurleer, exhibition catalogue of the J.M. van Diepen collection, Fraeylemaborg Slochteren, 1977), p.88, cat. 259.
Condition: Crazing to the glaze of the lower part of the kendi with three firing tension hairlines.
References:
Lunsingh Scheurleer 1971, p.108, cat. 172
Lunsingh Scheurleer 1977, p.88, cat. 257
Price: € 699 - $ 825 - £ 616
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Blue and White Kangxi Period 1662-1722 - Western Shapes
Object 2012170
Salt
China
c.1700
Height 57 mm (2.24 inch), diameter concave top 48 mm (1.89 inch), diameter foot 74 mm (2.91 inch), weight 129 grams (4.55 ounce (oz.))
Salt of hexagonal waisted form on an open base. The inside unglazed, the lower hexagonal part tapering to the waist, the spreading top with a recessed centre, the rim extending downwards. Decorated in underglaze blue with a border of moulded descending lotus leaves alternating with lotus leaf-shaped panels filled with a flower head. Round the waist a border with flower heads and dots. On the rim a border with moulded lotus leaves alternating with lotus leaf-shaped panels filled with a a flower head, on the circular concave top moulded lotus leaves.
Modelled after an European pewter or earthenware salt, the material and the Chinese style decoration made this salt an exotic object that was prominently placed on a richly laid table. At this time salts were ordered separately, and only much later as part of a dinner service. With many Christian connotations, salt was an important seasoning at dinner before the 19th century and salts were larger and more elaborate than they are today. (Howard 1994, p.125), (Jörg 2011/2, p.148)
Condition: Some discolouration and fine crazing to the glaze, a few firing flaws and popped bubble of glaze, caused by the firing process, and a glaze rough spot to one edge.
References:
Price: € 449 - $ 529 - £ 395
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Japanese Blue and White wares 18th Century
Object 2010C308
Dish
Japan, Arita, Nangawara valley, Higuchi kiln.
1760-1770
Height 33 mm (1.30 inch), diameter of rim 220 mm (8.66 inch), diameter of footring 137 mm (5.39 inch), weight 479 grams (16.90 ounce (oz.))
Dish on footring, straight sides, short flat rim with an upturned scalloped underglaze brown edge. On the base four spur-marks. The glaze a greyish-white colour with many pin-pricks. Decorated with a moulded low relief of two elephants under the glaze, walking to the left in a landscape with rocks, their trunks on the ground, a monk herding them. Above the elephants a text of ten characters in four lines; on the left another text of ten characters in two lines, both groups in underglaze blue. On the rim a circling line of separate small underglaze blue dots and flowering branches moulded in low relief under the glaze. On the base a square shopmark within a circle in underglaze blue.
In general, in Asian cultures the high intelligence and good memory of Asian elephants is admired. As such, they symbolise wisdom and royal power. In Japanese mythology the elephant is a tusked, fanged mythical beast which appears in both Buddhist and Shinto iconography.
The Japanese had not seen elephants until the 16th century, so representations tend to be elaborated by the fancy of the artist. Presumably because of its watery associations the elephant serves to protect wooden structures against fire and to bring about the rain. Hence it is often seen as a tusked-and-fanged short-trunked finial of roof and ceiling beams (Michael Ashkenazi, Handbook of Japanese Mythology, Oxford University Press 2008, pp. 117-118)
Around the middle of the 18th century Arita was depending on the Japanese market again for their sales. Although there was still private trade, the era of large orders for export to the West had passed by. About the same time moulded relief decoration on white porcelain or combined with underglaze blue came into fashion on the more expensive Arita porcelain. According to Fitski, the well-cared for style and brown rim reminds of pieces from the Kakiemon ovens. As a matter of fact, a template for a similar plate has been handed down in the Kakiemon family (Fitski 2002, p. 37/ note 64)
The story depicted is taken from the Neo-Confucian text known as the "Twenty-four Filial Exemplars" written by the Chinese scholar Guo Jujing (Japanese: Kaku Kyokei) during the Yuan dynasty (1260–1368). The book recounts the self-sacrificing behaviour of twenty-four sons and daughters who go to extreme lengths to honour their parents, stepparents, grandparents, and parents-in-law. The text was extremely influential in the mediaeval Far East and was used to teach Confucian moral values.
The scene on the plate shows the story of the Chinese (Ta) Shun (舜, Japanese Taishun (大舜) who was exemplar for modesty and selfless filial piety (xiao 孝). This story was set in his childhood. Shun's mother died when he was young, so his father remarried and had another son with Shun's stepmother. Shun remained filial to his father, respected his stepmother and loved his half-brother even though they tried to kill him. His filial piety moved the gods, so they protected him from harm and made the animals help him in his daily farming chores. At one time he was sent by his father to clear land in the wilderness on Mount Li, where he was aided in his task by herds of Elephants and flocks of birds.
Taishun (大舜), from: Mirror of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety (Nijûshi-kô dôji kagami, 二十四孝童子鑑)
Publisher: Wakasa-ya Yoichi (若狭屋与市), 1840.Size called ôban, 250 mm (9.84 inch) x 36 mm (14.17 inch); graded coloration (bokashi)
The poem on the dish translates something like this:
"Herds of Elephants plough in the Spring, Flocks of birds pull the weeds; He is the heir of Yao and mounts its Throne; the spirit of filial piety moves the Heart of Heaven".
Shuns selfless acts of filial piety eventually brought him to the attention of the Emperor, who married his daughter to him and subsequently made him his heir. Shun, also known as Emperor Shun and Chonghua, became a legendary leader of ancient China, regarded by some sources as one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Oral tradition holds that he lived sometime between 2294 and 2184 BC.
The Chinese theme and poem fits very well with the popularity of the Literati movement in Japan. During the 18th century a movement with a craving for Chinese culture and philosophy arose, which had its origin in the middle of the 17th century, when after the fall of the Ming dynasty in 1644 a lot of Chinese intellectuals and monks fled to Japan. This was the beginning of a renewed interest in Chinese culture, especially Confucian studies, poetry and painting. The influence of the Southern Chinese painting school of literates (the movement was called ‘Nanga painting’ in Japan) was also visible in the decoration of porcelain, such as this dish.
A similary decorated set of bowls and nine small dishes are in a private collection in England.
For an identically shaped and decorated dish, please see;
- Fitski 2002, pp. 36-37 cat. 37
- The Shibata Collection Part II (The Kyushu Ceramic Museum, Kyushu,1991), p. 298, cat.784
- The Shibata Collection Part VIII (The Kyushu Ceramic Museum, Kyushu, 2002), p.124, cat. 228
For similar dishes with moulded relief and calligraphy, please see:
- The Shibata Collection Part II, (The Kyushu Ceramic Museum, Kyushu, 1991), p.298, cat. 783.
- The Shibata Collection Part VIII (The Kyushu Ceramic Museum, Kyushu, 2002), p.124, cat. 226 & cat.227
Condition: Perfect.
References:
Fitski 2002, pp. 36-37, cat.37 & p.62 (note 64); p. 47
Price: € 449 - $ 524 - £ 396
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Shipwreck Porcelains - The Nanking Cargo, 1752
Object 2012145
Teacup and saucer
China
1752
Provenance: The Nanking Cargo sale, Christie's Amsterdam, 28 April - 2 May 1986
Height of teacup 41 mm (1.61 inch), diameter of rim 89 mm (3.50 inch), diameter of footring 38 mm (1.50 inch), weight 70 grams (2.47 ounce (oz.))
Height of saucer 27 mm (1.06 inch), diameter of rim 136 mm (5.35 inch), diameter of footring 75 mm (2.95 inch), weight 122 grams (4.30 ounce (oz.))
Teacup and saucer on footrings, slightly everted rims. Chinese Imari, decorated in underglaze blue, iron-red and gold with the 'Chrysanthemum Rock' pattern in blue and enamels. Painted with chrysanthemum, bamboo and daisy issuing around a jagged outcrop of blue rockwork. On the rim a trellis-pattern border. The teacup is decorated en suite. On the saucer and teacup the original circular paper Christie's The Nanking Cargo sale label and on the teacup the original rectangular paper Christie's lot 5703/48 label, proving they have been one of 48 similar teacups and saucers sold in lot 5703. (Amsterdam 1986, p.263)
On Monday January 3, 1752, the Dutch East India Company, (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC) vessel Geldermalsen, struck a reef on her return journey to the Netherlands and sank in the South China Sea. Of the crew 32 survived and 80 went down with the ship and her cargo of tea, raw silk, textiles, dried wares, groceries, lacquer and porcelain.
The cargo of Chinese porcelain was originally potted in Jingdezhen, Jiangzi province then shipped to Nanking for delivery to the Dutch East India Company, (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC) vessel Geldermalsen for final transportation to the Netherlands. The Geldermalsen struck a reef on her return journey to the Netherlands and sank in the South China Sea on January 3, 1752. The cargo was recovered by Captain Michael Hatcher and his team in 1985 and sold by Christie's Amsterdam on 28 April - 2 May 1985 as 'The Nanking Cargo. Chinese Export Porcelain and Gold' two hundred and thirty-five years later. (Jörg 1986/1. pp.39-59)
An interesting detail is that Captain Michael Hatcher found the wreck of the Geldermalsen on the same reef as he earlier, in 1983, found the wreck of a Chinese junk. both wrecks were about a mile apart. This Chinese Junk wreck came to be known as "The Hatcher Junk" she had a cargo of Kraak and Transitional porcelain objects that were dated c.1643. (Sheaf & Kilburn 1988, p.27)
In total 1,382 teacups and saucers and 394 saucers without bowls with the 'Chrysanthemum Rock' pattern in blue and enamels were sold divided over the lots: 5693-5709 and 5710-5715. (Amsterdam 1986)
Condition: Both perfect.
References:
Sheaf & Kilburn 1988, p. 27 & Pl.146
Price: € 399 - $ 464 - £ 349
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Various
Object 2012008
Saucer
China
1700-1720
Height 20 mm (0.79 inch), diameter of rim 106 mm (4.17 inch), diameter of footring 50 mm (1.97 inch), weight 57 grams (2.01 ounce (oz.))
Saucer on footring, slightly everted rim. Decorated in 'Red & Gold' or 'Rouge de Fer' with iron-red and gold on the glaze with a yin-yang symbol in a central roundel surrounded by two groups of two winged angels holding a crown above a teapot on a stove separated from each other by cloud motifs. On the reverse two flower sprays.
Suebsman states that the design is to be interpreted as an allegory to tea, tea as the King of beverages. No other objects with this design are known, it was probably made, by special order, for a tea trader. (Suebsman 2018, p.57)
Objects with a Chine de commande design decorated in 'Red & Gold' or 'Rouge de Fer' with iron-red and gold on the glaze are rare we know of a dish with a biblical design of Christ's Baptism and a dish with a river scene with a Dutch drawbridge. For these two examples please see:
- Jan Menze van Diepen Stichting. Selectie uit de collectie Oosterse keramiek. (Jan Menze van Diepen Foundation. A Selection from the Collection of Oriental Ceramics), (C.J.A. Jörg, Slochteren, 2002), p.141, cat. 96.
- Have a Cup of Tea. Chinese Porcelain and Tea in North-West Germany, (Exhibition catalogue, Isensee Verlag, Oldenburg, 2015), p.107, cat. 87
The yin-yang motif is a very old Chinese cosmological symbol for positive and negative, male and female, dark and light, hot and cold and other pairs of opposites.
For other objects decorated with a yin-yang symbol, please see;
- Chinese Ceramics in the Collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. The Ming and Qing Dynasties, (C.J.A. Jörg in collaboration with J. van Campen, Philip Wilson Publishers Limited, London, 1997), pp.86-87, cat. 78 & pp.140-141, cat 150.
Condition: Two frits and three shallow glaze rough spots to the rim.
References:
Jörg & Van Campen 1997, cat. 78 & 150
Price: Sold.
Japanese Tea, Coffee and Chocolate wares 18th Century
Object 2012158
Saucer
Japan
1700 -1720
Height 22 mm (0.87 inch), diameter of rim 126 mm (4.96 inch), diameter of footring 50 mm (1.97 inch), weight 81 grams (3.07 ounce (oz.))
Saucer on footring, wide flat rim. Imari decorated in underglaze blue, iron-red, overglaze green, yellow and black enamel and gold with a central flower spray surrounded by knotted ribbons with intertwined tassels. On the rim groups of various flowering plants alternating with a bird in flight. On the reverse a continuous floral scroll.
Condition: Perfect.
Price: Sold.
Blue and White Kangxi Period 1662-1722 - Other Vases
Object 2011374
Baluster vase
China
1700-1720
Height with cover 135 mm (5.31 inch), diameter 60 mm (2.36 inch), diameter of mouthrim 23 mm (0.91 inch), diameter of base 40 mm (1.57 inch), weight with cover 275 grams (9.70 ounce (oz.)), weight cover 13 grams (0.46 ounce (oz.))
Baluster vase on footring. Fitted with marked (1845) and engraved Dutch silver mounts. Decorated in underglaze blue with a parrot, perched on a branch, in a lobbed medallion alternating with flowering plants within two broad bands filled with scroll work. Round the foot a descending lotus leaves-pattern border, the mouthrim with a lappet-pattern border and two butterflies in flight. The silver marks explained: the makers mark or year letter 'L' which stands for the date mark 1845, the sword mark was used (1814-1905) as the standard mark on articles too small for the full hallmarking.
The parrot exists as a well documented, independent European design that was widely popular at a time when merchants and travelers first collected parrots as emblems of exotic lands. As early as 1580, the Antwerp engraver Adrian Collaert (1560-1618) published a series of bird prints, among which was an image of two birds on stumps, one of which eats cherries. (Sargent 2012, pp.510-511)
Condition: Perfect.
Reference:
Price: Sold.
Blue and White Kangxi Period 1662-1722 - Western Shapes
Object 2012165
Salt
China
c.1700
Height 68 mm (2.68 inch), diameter concave top 63 mm (2.48 inch), diameter foot 66 mm (2.60 inch), weight 162 grams (5.71 ounce (oz.))
Salt of hexagonal waisted form on an open base. The inside glazed, the lower hexagonal part tapering to the waist, the spreading top with a recessed centre, the rim extending downwards. Decorated in underglaze blue with on each of the facet sides panels filled with flowering plants and leaves. On the rim flowering plants, alternating with auspicious symbols, in reserves flanked by dense leaves. The circular concave top decorated with two wide spread flower sprays.
Modelled after an European pewter or earthenware salt, the material and the Chinese style decoration made this salt an exotic object that was prominently placed on a richly laid table. At this time salts were ordered separately, and only much later as part of a dinner service. With many Christian connotations, salt was an important seasoning at dinner before the 19th century and salts were larger and more elaborate than they are today. (Howard 1994, p.125), (Jörg 2011/2, p.148)
Condition: A popped bubble of glaze, caused by the firing process, to the rim, some firing flaws and tiny glaze rough spots to the rim and foot.
References:
Price: € 749 - $ 911 - £ 655
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
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