Recent Acquisitions
BIG Winter SALE!!
From November 11 to
December 31, 2021
we are offering:
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30% discount
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including all objects in the recent acquisitions page.
(excluding all objects in the bargain sale categories)
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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 updates:
Recent Acquisitions; December 1, 2021.
Japanese wares with Western Designs 1653-1800
Object 2012436
Apothecary bottle
Japan
1670-1700
Height 258 mm (10.16 inch), diameter belly 175 mm (6.89 inch), diameter of mouthrim 37 mm (1.46 inch), diameter of footring 86 mm (3.39 inch), weight 1,210 grams (42.68 ounce (oz.))
Globular bottle on footring, tapering neck, the mouth with a double flange. Decorated in underglaze blue with fruiting pomegranate branches, peonies and birds surrounding a circle containing the initials 'H:S;'. On the shoulder a blue band, on the neck flowering plants and grasses.
Apothecary bottles were produced for the Dutch in Arita between 1652 and 1727.
For an example please see:
Bottles with initials can be dated accordingly as part of this group.
Known initials are: IC, IVH, PVD, PW, IS-M, PD, LVR, VOC, Ds. Vandr. Hof, RW, FW, CB, CK, VCL, LG, AL, HS, DSM, DDH, IS-HB, GDH, WV, POK, B, NA, M, LP, OJK, WTR, BS. wn. and ICT. In some cases it is certain (or almost certain) that the initials refer to an owner or commissioner for example:
IC: these initials were assumed to be those of Johannes Camphuis, director of the VOC office in Decima in 1672, 1674 and 1676 and Governor-General from 1684 until 1691.
WV: could stand for Willem Volger who was in Decima in 1664 and 1666
GDH: could stand for Gerrit de Heere (1694)
BS.wn.: could stand for Balthasar Sweers Willemsz. (1690)
WTR: probably means Willem ten Rhijne, a famous surgeon who was in Decima from 1674 to 1676.
IVH: these initials are said to have belonged to Joan van Hoorn, Governor-General from 1704 till 1709.
The other known initials cannot easily be connected with specific names. They might stand for other VOC employees at Decima, but unfortunately a list of all merchants, assistants, bookkeepers, surgeons and lower personnel working there has not yet been compiled. Besides those men, other people outside Decima may have ordered bottles with their initials through friends or relatives in Japan. For instance the Reverend Van der Hof apparently never was in Decima but the famous bottle with his name (Ds. Vandr. Hof) fully written, the only example known, undoubtedly was made specially for him. The connection of initials with directors, Governor-General and a surgeon, although not proven firmly, indicate a fashion in the upper levels of the Dutch society in Decima and Batavia. This small group could afford luxury objects, they followed each other in acquiring novelties and this therefore is the natural environment to investigate when searching for identification of other initials.
Following this advice. It is tempting to assume that the 'H:S' initials might have referred to Henricus (Hendrick) Swaardecroon (1667-1728), Governor-General of the Dutch East India Company, (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC) who already worked for the VOC in the East from 1684 onwards in various influential positions and finally becoming Governor-General in 1718 (1718-1725). It would therefore have been easy for him to order these Japanese flasks with his initials through his contacts at that time. Although his last name is originally Zwaardecroon with a 'Z', the spelling at that time was also Swaardecroon with a 'S' as can be seen on this portrait made by an yet unknown artist (this portrait is not included in this offer/sale).
More problems arise for the one capital initials. Two are known thus far: an 'M' and a 'B'. Do they stand just for a family name, or is something else indicated, not a name but some kind of of liquor. 'M' for instance, could mean 'Madeira', a strong, sweet wine much favoured by the Dutch and the 'B' could be 'Brandewijn' (brandy). The bottles with the 'IS-M' and the 'IS-HB' initials probably have a double meaning: 'IS' stands for the name of the owner, who had made a set for Madeira wine (M) and one for 'Hollandsche Brandewijn' (HB, Dutch brandy). The intials 'FW' might have referred to the contents of 'Franse wijn' (French wine) as can be seen on a Japanese Imari tea bowl and saucer decorated with a river landscape with two fishermen in a boat and two farmers with an ox. In the foreground, on a rocky promontory, shadowed by a flowering tree, we see two seated scholars. Next to them, on the ground, are placed a tall cup, a saucer dish, a food box with hashi and a clearly recognizable apothecary bottle decorated with the initials FW. It is clearly demonstrated in this decoration: apothecary bottles were used as wine bottles by the Japanese and most likely by Europeans as well.
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Earlier sold object 2012088.
Earlier sold object 2012088 (close-up).
So besides referring to private individuals the initials might also indicate the contents, especially the one-letter initials and probably, too, the combination of capitals written through each other. It is very unlikely that initialled bottles were used as containers for medical or pharmaceutical fluids. Obviously they held wine or alcoholic spirits. More research has to be done to establish firm dates, a stylistic chronology and an insight in the use of these bottles by the Japanese themselves. (Jörg 1991, pp.1-26)
For an identically shaped, sized and decorated apothecary bottle, please see;
Condition: Fine crazing to the glaze and a firing tension hairline to the body.
References:
Price: Sold.
Japanese Imari 1690-1800 - Imari with no Underglaze Blue, Iron-red and Gold only
Objects 2012282A-F
Six tea bowls and saucers
Japan
1700-1720
2012282A:
Height of tea bowl 39 mm (1.53 inch), diameter of rim 65 mm (2.55 inch), diameter of footring 22 mm (0.86 inch), weight 40 grams (2.37 ounce (oz.))
Height of saucer 23 mm (0.91 inch), diameter of rim 110 mm (4.33 inch), diameter of footring 45 mm (1.77 inch), weight 83 grams (4.83 ounce (oz.))
2012282B:
Height of tea bowl 37 mm (1.46 inch), diameter of rim 63 mm (2.48 inch), diameter of footring 26 mm (1.02 inch), weight 33 grams (2.29 ounce (oz.))
Height of saucer 26 mm (1.02 inch), diameter of rim 108 mm (4.25 inch), diameter of footring 43 mm (1.69 inch), weight 73 grams (4.96 ounce (oz.))
2012282C:
Height of tea bowl 38 mm (1.49 inch), diameter of rim 65 mm (2.56 inch), diameter of footring 26 mm (1.02 inch), weight 42 grams (2.40 ounce (oz.))
Height of saucer 24 mm (0.94 inch), diameter of rim 109 mm (4.29 inch), diameter of footring 42 mm (1.65 inch), weight 74 grams (3.77 ounce (oz.))
2012282D:
Height of tea bowl 38 mm (1.49 inch), diameter of rim 62 mm (2.44 inch), diameter of footring 21 mm (0.83 inch), weight 33 grams (2.37 ounce (oz.))
Height of saucer 23 mm (0.91 inch), diameter of rim 107 mm (4.21 inch), diameter of footring 45 mm (1.77 inch), weight 69 grams (4.83 ounce (oz.))
2012282E:
Height of teabowl 41 mm (1.61 inch), diameter of rim 61 mm (2.40 inch), diameter of footring 24 mm (0.94 inch), weight 37 grams (2.29 ounce (oz.))
Height of saucer 26 mm (1.02 inch), diameter of rim 110 mm (4.33 inch), diameter of footring 44 mm (1.73 inch), weight 75 grams (4.96 ounce (oz.))
2012282F:
Height of teabowl 35 mm (1.38 inch), diameter of rim 63 mm (2.48 inch), diameter of footring 21 mm (0.83 inch), weight 30 grams (2.40 ounce (oz.))
Height of saucer 24 mm (0.94 inch), diameter of rim 108 mm (4.24 inch), diameter of footring 44 mm (1.73 inch), weight 74 grams (3.77 ounce (oz.))
Six tea bowls and saucers on footrings with everted rims. Imari decorated in overglaze iron-red and gold with a central flower spray on the sides and rim large panels filled with a bamboo tree, a bird in flight and clouds alternating with small panels filled with a flower spray. The reverse is undecorated. The tea bowls are decorated en suite.
In category 36 'Coloured Imari with no underglaze blue, iron-red and gold only' of his Japanese export porcelain, Impey states that the implication of this singular restriction of palette, without the use of underglaze blue, is that these may be the product of a single enamelling workshop, but may or may not be the product of a single kiln. The restriction is probably one of choice, for it would hardly be cheaper, if at all, to use a wider range of enamels, and no cheaper to use underglaze blue. (Impey 2002, pp.220-221)
Conditions:
2012282A
Tea bowl: Perfect.
Saucer: Perfect.
2012282B
Tea bowl: Perfect.
Saucer: Perfect.
2012282C
Tea bowl: Perfect.
Saucer: Perfect.
2012282D
Tea bowl: A hairline to the rim.
Saucer: Perfect.
2012282E
Tea bowl: Perfect.
Saucer: Perfect.
2012282F
Tea bowl: A tiny fleabite to the outer rim.
Saucer: Perfect.
Reference:
Price: Sale pending.
Japanese Imari 1690-1800 - Tableware and other Porcelain with Western Shapes
Object 2012369
Shaving bowl
Japan
1700-1730
Height 83 mm (3.27 inch), diameter of rim 242 mm (9.53 inch), diameter of footring 93 mm (3.66 inch), weight 724 grams (25.54 ounce (oz.))
Shaving bowl on high footring. Moulded ribbed rim with a saved semi-circular section and two small holes opposite the cut-out section. Decorated in underglaze blue and overglaze iron-red, black, green enamel and gold with a jardinière on a fenced terrace filled with leafy flowering peonies. On the rim a flowering tree with leafy branches growing behind a reserve a shaped reserve filled with a flower head and leafy branches in reverse decoration alternating with flower heads on an underglaze blue ground. On the reverse two wide spread prunus sprays.
The first documentary evidence for scheerbeckens or shaving bowls is a 1662 invoice from the Director of the Deshima factory in Nagasaki regarding an order for 258 of these dishes for shipment to the Netherlands. After this point shaving dishes become a regular export item.
Shaving bowls were used by barbers and were indispensable in the Dutch household too. They were made of earthenware, pewter, copper and even silver. Beside their function as a shaving utensil, they had an alternative use, namely to let blood from a vein in the arm during blood-letting. This was a medical procedure thought to drain bad blood from the system, which was also performed by the barber/surgeon. In the seventeenth century, regulations were put in place in England to govern what barbers were permitted to do. Thus they became confined to bloodletting and treating external diseases. In Prussia the barbers' and the surgeons' guild joined in 1779, and it was said of great Prussian surgeons that they had risen "up from the barber's bowl”. Both purposes explain the semi-circular saving. The two holes in the rim are for a cord or string. A shaving basin with the actual silk string still attached was excavated in Amsterdam. The string was used to suspend it from the client's neck to catch lather and water during shaving, or to hang the bowl on the wall thus implying that owners also appreciated the bowl for its decorative value as well as its function. Shaving bowls can be seen hanging on the wall as such in some dollhouses.
Cornelis Troost, Arlequin toovenaar en barbier, 1738, Mauritshuis, The Hague, Netherlands, inv. nr. 184. In spite of the satirical intent, the painting reflects actual usage.
The doll’s house of Petronella Dunois (1650-1695), c. 1676, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, inv.nr. BK-14656. Two shaving dishes are suspended on the left wall.
Chinese shaving bowls usually have the holes in the footring instead of the rim. Most Japanese barber’s bowls are more or less rounded, whereas Chinese barber’s bowls usually are oval (for a Chinese example, please see the sold archives object 2011301)
For identically shaped and sized and similarly decorated shaving bowls, please see:
- Oosterse keramiek uit Groninger kollekties,exhibition catalogue Groninger Museum, (C.J.A. Jörg, Martinipers/Wolters-Noordhoff, Groningen 1982). p.81, cat. 123.
- Fine & Curious, Japanese export porcelain in Dutch Collections, (C.J.A. Jörg, Hotei Publishing, Amsterdam, 2003), p.185, cat. 229.
Condition: A frit to the rim.
References:
Price: € 399 - $ 447 - £ 336
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Blue and White Kangxi Period 1662-1722 - Tea, Coffee and Chocolate wares
Object 201099A
Tea bowl and saucer
China
1700-1720
Height of tea bowl 33 mm (1.30 inch), diameter of rim 55 mm (2.17 inch), diameter of footring 23 mm (0.91 inch), weight 28 grams (0.99 ounce (oz.))
Height of saucer 21 mm (0.83 inch), diameter of rim 85 mm (3.35 inch), diameter of footring 46 mm (1.81 inch), weight 39 grams (1.38 ounce (oz.))
Teacup and saucer on footrings. Decorated in underglaze blue with a central flower head on the sides three roundels filled with a flower head and leaves alternating with a single flower spray. Round the rim four reserves filled with grasses on a trellis pattern ground. The reverse is undecorated. The teacup is decorated en suite.
Condition teacup: Two tiny fleabites to the rim
Condition saucer: Perfect.
Price: Sale pending.
Japanese Imari 1690-1800 - Imari with no Underglaze Blue, Iron-red and Gold only
Object 2010C320
Teapot
Japan
1690-1720
Height with cover 76 mm (2.99 inch), height without cover 68 mm (2.68 inch), diameter handle to spout 100 mm (3.94 inch), diameter of mouthrim 20 mm (0.79 inch), diameter of foot 28 mm (1.10 inch), weight including cover 99 grams (3.49 ounce (oz.)), weight cover 6 grams (0.21 ounce (oz.))
Small teapot, square, rounded body on flat unglazed base. Curved handle and a short straight spout. Small upright mouthrim, flat lid with round knob. Imari decorated in iron-red and gold on the sides with flowering plants and grasses and two deeply recessed kidney-shaped panels with modelled decorations in high relief. One panel with a cock, chicken and two eggs on the other a bird perched on a branch of a prunus tree. Round the base of the spout an upturned pointed leaves pattern border. On the handle a floret between scrolls. On the cover round the base of the knob a leaves pattern border in low relief.
In category 36 'Coloured Imari with no underglaze blue, iron-red and gold only' of his Japanese export porcelain, Impey states that the implication of this singular restriction of palette, without the use of underglaze blue, is that these may be the product of a single enamelling workshop, but may or may not be the product of a single kiln. The restriction is probably one of choice, for it would hardly be cheaper, if at all, to use a wider range of enamels, and no cheaper to use underglaze blue. (Impey 2002, pp.220-221)
Bottles, vases, teapots and other objects with similar recessed panels that form a kind of window through to a deeper picture layer were only produced for a short period. This was probably because they were too time-consuming to make and therefore expensive. This type of decoration is only found on Japanese pieces; Chinese imitations are still unknown. (Jörg 2003/1, p.98, cat.96)
Japanese Imari objects decorated in a low relief are rare. In 'Fine & Curious' a bottle (cat. 96), two teapots (cat. 243) and a shaving bowl (231), all decorated in a low relief, are published. Jörg states that these objects could have been made in a specialised workshop producing for export. (Jörg 2003/1, p.100 & p.186)
The inset relief-modelled scenes, often of chickens, can also be found on longnecked bottles. (Impey 2002, p,221, cat. 381)
For an similarly shaped, sized and decorated teapot, please see:
For an earlier sold teapot also decorated in low relief with similar recessed panels that form a kind of window through to a deeper picture layer, please see:
-
Sold Ceramics - Sold Japanese Tea, Coffee and Chocolate wares 18th Century - Page 1 - Object 201034.
Condition: Firing flaws to the handle, the mouthrim an underside of the rim of the cover, two very tiny fleabites to the tip of the spout and a firing tension hairline to the underside of the handle. At one point in time the cover was probably glued to the teapot by a former owner this way preventing it from accidentally falling off and breaking, some glue remains are attached to the underside of the rim of the cover.
References:
Jörg 1982/2, cat. 98 & cat. 122
Price: € 849 - $ 956 - £ 714
(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 2011053
Bowl
China
1730-1750, over-decorated in the Netherlands, Amsterdams Bont, c.1730-1760
Height 72 mm (2.83 inch), diameter of rim 141 mm (5.55 inch), diameter of footring 53 mm (2.09 inch), weight 241 grams (8.05 ounce (oz.))
Bowl on footring with steeply rounded sides and a straight underglaze brown-edged rim (jia mangkou). Decorated in underglaze blue with various flower sprays. Over-decorated in iron-red, black, gold and overglaze green enamel, in the Netherlands, Amsterdams Bont, c.1730-1760 with four panels, two filled with a fisherman near two sentry houses and the other two with a man walking over a bridge towards two sentry houses. In between the panels floral sprays and leafy scrolls. Around the foot a zig-zag lines pattern border. On the bottom a basket filled with flowering plants, hanging ribbons. Around the inner rim four reserves filled with an insect on a diaper pattern border. Marked on the base with a shop / makers mark in a double circle in underglaze blue.
The flower basket in combination with the fisherman by a sentry house was by far the most popular motif used on Amsterdams Bont pieces decorated in the Netherlands.
For similarly decorated objects, please see:
Condition: Firing flaws to the inner wall and inner footring the last with a short connected hairline. Three tiny fleabites to the rim.
Price: € 199 - $ 224 - £ 167
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Chine de commande - Armorial / Pseudo-Armorial wares 1700-1800 - Pseudo-Armorial - Page 1
Object 2010786
Saucer
China
c.1740
Height 21 mm (0.82 inch), diameter of rim 116 mm (4.57 inch), diameter of footring 66 mm (2.68 inch), weight 46 grams (1.62 ounce (oz.))
Saucer on footring, slightly everted rim. Decorated in various overglaze enamels and gold with a roundel enclosing the mirror monogram of possible the 'DOC' the Danske Ostindke Company within a rocaille mantling and below a flower wreath, the rim with a border of vine and flowers. The reverse is undecorated.
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)
For an identically shaped, sized and decorated teacup and saucer, please see:
The mirror monogram on this saucer is interesting, similar monograms can be found on Danish coins (Kronet) from 1699-1730 made during the reign of the Danish/Norwegian King Frederick IV (1671-1730). In the Christie's Amsterdam auction sale catalogue 14-16 February 2016, the monogram on the Buisman teacup and saucer (lot 1096) is described as 'DOD'. The pictures of the Danish coins (Kronet) can be found on danskmoent.dk. On this website the author states that the very similar monograms 'DOC' on these coins (Kronet) are the monogram of the Danske Ostindke Company.
'DOC' monogram of the Danske Ostindke Company.
Forside: Kronet double F4 monogram
Bagside: Kronet DOC monogram; 10 Kas under DOC
I 1729 gik det Danske Ostindiske Company bankerot og det var slut med DOC på mønterne. Den danske konge overtog kolonien.
Pictures and text courtesy: danskmoent.dk
Condition: A three tiny fleabites to the rim.
References:
Price: € 749 - $ 845 - £ 628
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Kakiemon / Kakiemon-style wares - Kakiemon-style
Object 2010140
Saucer
Japan
c.1700
Provenance: Mr D.H.J. Ninck Blok, Groningen, the Netherlands.
Height 21 mm (0.83 inch), diameter of rim 110 mm (4.33 inch), diameter of footring 59 mm or (2.32 inch), weight 70 grams (2.47 ounce (oz.))
Saucer on footring, spreading sides with an everted and foliated rim. Kakiemon decorated in enamels with a bird perched on the branch of a blossoming prunus tree growing from rocks near water. The reverse is undecorated. On the base two labels, the first a rectangular black paper dealer label with silver letters that reads: ' D.J.H. Ninck Blok antiquair - beëdigd taxateur, Noorderhaven 40, 9712 VL Groningen NL Tel: 050-3127232. The second label is a rectangular plastic label with black letters that reads 'no: 146 Kakiemon, ca.1700 f 875,-.
This saucer was originally described as 'Kakiemon' by the well-respected Dutch antiques dealer Mr. D.J.H. Ninck Blok from Groningen (see the label on the base). Since I bought this saucer in 1996 I have come to the conclusion that it should actually have been classified as Kakiemon-style rather than Kakiemon. The quality of the pureness of the porcelain and the quality of the decoration both indicate that it was made in kilns competing with those of the original Kakiemon products.
In China, the blossoms of the Prunus mume (ume) symbolize purity and renewal, and occur very early on in Chinese painting, frequently in combination with pine and bamboo. In Japan, it primarily heralds the coming of spring, and is also used in art and literature to evoke the feel of the cold of winter loosening its grip. The delicate scent of the blossoms also evokes memories of a love one for many poets. The incisively painted, angular branches of the Prunus mume are a very characteristic element of Kakiemon, mostly depicted with fine black lines and clear red blossoms against the white porcelain. The blossoms are sometimes blown up to almost chrysanthemum-like proportions, and it is mostly depicted in a fairly stylized manner. Bamboo (take) is evergreen, and pliable, yet very strong. It is quick to recover after a heavy snowfall or a storm. In Japan, these qualities have led to its representation of indomitability, and the posture that a wise person should adopt, particularly in times of adversity. On kakiemon, bamboo has this connotation primarily in combination with Prunus mune and pine. The pine tree (matsu), an evergreen capable of living to extreme old age, represents power, a long and happy life, and even immortality. On Kakiemon porcelain we see it depicted as an old, venerable tree, but also sometimes as a young shoot, in combination with the crane. The brushwood fence (shibagaki) is made of bundles of twigs tied together, it is frequently combined with a bamboo trellis, an enlarged branch of flowering tree peony, and a shishi. It is a motif that occurs frequently on Kakiemon, with or without these companions, and one which evidently appealed greatly to the European consumer, given the fact that it is often seen on European imitations of Kakiemon. (Fitski 2011, p.148, p.151, pp.153-154 & p.163)
For an identically shaped and sized and Kakiemon decorated saucer, please see:
Condition: A chip to the inner footring.
References:
Fitski 2011, p.148, p.151, pp.153-154 & p.163
Price: € 999 - $ 1,133 - £ 838
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Outdoor Scenes
Object 2012363
Dish
China
c.1735
Height 39 mm (1.54 inch), diameter of rim 229 mm (9.02 inch), diameter of footring 120 mm (4.72 inch), weight 351 grams (12.58 ounce (oz.))
Dish on footring, flat underglaze brown-edged rim (jia mangkou). Polychrome decorated in iron-red and gold and blue, green, pink and black overglaze enamels with a young European man seated on a taihu (garden) rockwork playing an oboe. On the sides a continuous shell-pattern border and on the rim flower sprays alternating with birds in flight. The reverse is undecorated. On the base a rectangular white paper label and handwritten in black ink: "La Porcelaine des Compagnies des Indes a decor occidental" p.184 Plate 8.3.
Picturesque subjects
This wide classification of themes - most of them concerned with the subjects of love, beauty and happiness - derive from the great variety of prints and pictures with subjects based on artistic engravings or variations (usually erotic) of these which flowed to China from 1740 onwards. If they had any common factor it must have been the popularity which, it was hoped, would attend their advent in the form of porcelain in the markets of Europe.
Unlike the mythological and literary subjects, the earliest probably preceded Pronk, or were at least unaffected by his efforts, and the more standardized products which emerged after 1740. Such early examples appear to be, in the main, of a style designed by the Chinese themselves with musicians and bird sellers showing only rudimentary signs of European draughtsmanship. (Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. II, p.359)
For an identically shaped, sized and decorated dish, please see:
Howard & Ayers state that there is a series of such plates with different musicians, but the meaning is obscure, and because there is little realism it seems probable the Chinese painters were copying a series of sketches, which may have originated in the East rather than from any Western source. Such porcelain may well have been popular within China as it was for export. (Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. II, p.359)
Hervouët and Bruneau state that two other designs of a young European man playing an instrument are known and although not belonging to the same series they nevertheless have an obvious family resemblance. (Hervouët 1986, p.184)
For examples of these other objects, please see:
- China for the West. Chinese Porcelain and other Decorative Arts for Export illustrated from the Mottahedeh Collection, (D.S. Howard & J. Ayers, Philip Wilson Publishers for Sotheby Parke Bernet Publications, London 1978), vol. II, p.359, cat. 348.
- La Porcelaine des Compagnies des Indes a décor Occidental, (F. & N. Hervouët, Paris, 1986), p.184 cat. 8.10 & 8.14.
- Fine Chinese Export Porcelain from the Collection of Angelo Castelo Branco Cerqueira Caldas, auction sale catalogue Sotheby's London, 8th May 1990, pp.62-63, lot 117.
- The Dr Anton C.R. Dreesmann Collection, European Furniture and Chinese Export Porcelain, auction catalogue Christie's London 10 April 2002, p.242, lot 467.
Mudge illustrates a Chinese shaving basin polychrome decorated with a young European man playing a oboe while standing in a garden landscape with various flowering plants.
Condition: Two firing flaws and three fleabites to the rim.
References:
Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. II, cat. 348
Hervouët 1986, cat. 8.3, 8.10 & 8.14
Price: Sold.
Polychrome wares other since 1722
Object 2010747
Tea bowl and saucer
China
1730-1745
Height of tea bowl 45 mm (1.77 inch), diameter of rim 75 mm (2.95 inch), diameter of footring 35 mm (1.37 inch), weight 51 grams (1.80 ounce (oz.))
Height of saucer 23 mm (0.91 inch), diameter of rim 121 mm (4.76 inch), diameter of footring 66 mm (2.60 inch), weight 96 grams (3.39 ounce (oz.))
Tea bowl and saucer on footrings with moulded walls and lobed underglaze brown-edged rims (jia mangkou). Decorated in iron-red and gold and green, white and black enamel with a central flower spray surrounded by three flower sprays. Round the rim a spearhead-pattern border. The reverse is undecorated. The tea bowl is decorated en suite.
Condition saucer: A firing flaw to the inner rim.
Condition tea bowl: Perfect.
Price: € 199 - $ 225 - £ 167
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Kraak Porcelain wares 1570-1645 - Dishes
Object 2011143
Dish
China
1610-1630
Height 62 mm (2.44 inch), diameter 365 mm (14.37 inch), diameter of footring 186 mm (7.32 inch), weight 1,462 grams (51.57 ounce (oz.))
Dish on footring, slightly scalloped flat rim. Decorated in underglaze blue with the ducks-in-a-pond motif, encircled by an eight pointed scalloped medallion. On the sides and rim large panels filled with the sunflower motif and symbols alternating with narrow panels filled with knotted ribbon and a diaper or scale pattern. On the reverse large ogival or round panels filled with fungus and dots and narrow panels with lingzhi motifs.
According to Rinaldi this dish can be classified as a Border VII.2 dish. Here the large panels on the border are no longer filled with floral sprays or insects, while the peach has begun its transformation into what is known as the sunflower motif. Auspicious symbols replace floral sprays and insects, most of them concerned with longevity, as if to ward off the dangers of wars and famines which swept over China at that time. These symbols are usually Daoist or the Eight treasures. Buddhist symbols are much rarer. In this group narrow panels are partly filled with diaper motifs. In the centre Medallion the ducks in a pond and the hanging basket are still very common. In this group a new motif appears: a bird on a rock near water and large flowers, usually peonies. The scheme of the underside repeats that of the front. Large ogival or round panels contain fungus and dots; narrow sections contain stylised lingzhi motifs. In this group narrow panels are partly filled with diaper motifs while there are a few dishes which do not have a diaper border around the central medallion. (Rinaldi 1989, pp.100-105)
A design of a wild duck at a lotus pond signifies blessings for a fruitful marriage, since a marriage proposal was made by a man sending a duck to the woman's family as a present. Acceptance of the duck meant acceptance of the proposal. The lotus, shown in different stages of growth, symbolizes purity and abundant offspring by recalling the common phrase "from the lotus comes noble offspring". (Sjostrand & Lok Lok 2007, p.288, Serial No. 5095
For similarly decorated dishes with the ducks-in-a-pond motif, please see:
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Sold Ceramics - Sold Kraak Porcelain wares 1570-1645 - Dishes - Page 1 - Object 2010724.
- Kraak porcelain. A moment in the history of trade, (M. Rinaldi, Bamboo Publishing Ltd, London 1989), p.101, Pl.90.
- The Wanli Shipwreck and its ceramic cargo, (S. Sjostrand & S. Lok Lok bt. Syed Idrus, Kuala Lumpur 2007), pp.170-171, Serial No. 2454
Condition: A fring flaw and two chips to the rim.
References:
Rinaldi 1989, pp.100-105 & Pl.90 & Pl.93
Sjostrand & Lok Lok 2007, p.288 & Serial No. 2454 & 5095
Price: Sold.
Mandarin wares 1750-1790
Object 2011540
Teapot
China
1760-1770
Height with cover 160 mm (6.30 inch), diameter handle to spout 235 mm (9.25 inch), diameter of mouthrim 74 mm (2.91 inch), diameter of footring 69 mm (2.72 inch), weight including cover 614 grams (21.66 ounce (oz.)), weight cover 103 grams (3.36 ounce (oz.))
Of inverted pear shape teapot with vertical moulding on footring. Domed pierced cover with a pointed knob. The original handle is missing and replaced with a mahogany C-shaped handle fitted to the body with silver mounts. Barbed bent spout. Decorated in underglaze blue, iron-red, gold and various overglaze enamels with on either side a scroll-outlined panel filled with a lady seated at a table holding a fan in a garden landscape while watching a little boy, flanked by floral spays. On the cover two scroll-outlined panels filled with flowering plants and flanked by floral spays.
This shape of this teapot owes its origin to a more delicate and simple Meissen form. The simple globular teapots which had dominated the market until the 1760s gave way to these clumsier and larger forms for more than a decade, before copying the silver inspired drum shapes that followed in the last two decades of the 18th century and much of the 19th. (Litzenburg 2003, p.153)
Mandarin wares is the traditional name used in the northern Netherlands for a particular group of export porcelain dating to the second half of the 18th century. It is characterized by the decoration that shows a dense and crowded design of Chinese men ('Mandarins'), women and children in a garden, on a terrace or in an interior, all dressed in colorful garments. Apart from rose, green, brown and black enamel, a purple-violet enamel is often used. Less widespread is a combination with underglaze blue. The decoration can be detailed and precise, but on later pieces is often coarse and stereotypical, and it is frequently combined with a brown-orange enamel. Fanciful rococo-style arabesques and asymmetrical panels can surround the main scene. Larger pieces sometimes have a decoration in relief. Objects of better quality often have small cartouches filled with birds on a branch, flowering plants or landscapes, sometimes done in encre de Chine. Compared to the central scenes, it is clear that different craftsmen painted them. 'Mandarin' designs frequently appear on tea and coffee wares, on dinner sets and on display pieces like vases and garnitures. ‘Mandarin’ was much appreciated in the Dutch province of Groningen. A distinction was made between 'farmer's Mandarin' which is decorated without any gold, and the more precious 'gentleman’s Mandarin' which has an extra layer of gold.
Condition: The original handle is missing and replaced with a mahogany C-shaped handle fitted to the body with silver mounts. A chip to the rim of the spout. A short hairline to the rim of the mouth.
Reference:
Price: Sale pending.
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