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 updates:
Recent Acquisitions; August 7, 2022.
Japanese Blue and White wares 17th Century
Object 2012488
Dish
Japan
1680-1700
Height 33 mm (1.30 inch), diameter of rim 230 mm (9.06 inch), diameter of footring 117 mm (4.61 inch), weight 454 grams (16.01 ounce (oz.))
Dish on footring, flat rim. On the base four spur-marks in a Y-pattern. Decorated in underglaze blue with flowering chrysanthemums and peonies and insects in flight enclosed by a double concentric band. On the rim a continuous border of paired leafy flower heads. The reverse is undecorated.
In Japan porcelain is being produced since c.1600. Due to the internal conflicts in China during the second half of the 17th century kilns were destroyed, the porcelain production staggered and supply routes were cut off. In order to keep up with the ever growing demand for porcelain from the homeland the VOC, switched to Decima, Japan. Since 1641 a Dutch trading post was based on this artificial Island in the Bay of Nagasaki. With expanding Japanese production due to Dutch demand the decorative elements the designs and the more freely way in which they were applied by the porcelain decorators became more Japanese. It marked a clear change from the traditional Japanese interpretation of Chinese kraak designs. The powerful centre design and continuous border with the paired flowerheads on this specific dish are good examples of that change. (Jörg 2003/1, p.260)
An interesting detail, four fingerprints visible in underglaze blue on the reverse rim.
For identically shaped, sized and decorated dishes, please see;
- H.A. Daendels, Catalogus tentoonstelling Japans blauw wit Porselein. Op Hollandse bestelling en in de Japanse smaak, exhibition catalogue Gemeentelijk Museum Het Princessehof, Leeuwarden 1981. Also Published as Mededelingenblad Nederlandse Vereniging van Vrienden van de Ceramiek, vols. 101/102, p.42, cat. 31.
-
Sold Ceramics - Sold Japanese Blue and White wares 17th Century - Dishes - Page 2 - Object 2012489.
Condition: Perfect.
References:
Price: € 399 - $ 406 - £ 336
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Japanese Kakiemon / Japanese Kakiemon-style wares - Japanese Kakiemon-style
Objects 2012481 and 2012482
A pair of dishes
Japan
1670-1690
2012481: Height 26 mm (1.02 inch), diameter of rim 184 mm (7.24 inch), diameter of footring 111 mm (4.37 inch), weight 288 grams (10.16 ounce (oz.))
2012481: Height 23 mm (0.91 inch), diameter of rim 182 mm (7.17 inch), diameter of footring 111 mm (4.37 inch), weight 261 grams (9.21 ounce (oz.))
Two dishes on footrings. On the base of dish 2012481 four spur-marks in a Y-pattern and on the base of dish 2012482 three spur-marks in a V-pattern. Decorated in Kakiemon type enamels with a chrysanthemum spray within a double circle in underglaze blue. On the sides three groups of rocks one with a flowering prunus, the second with flowering bamboo and the last with various flowering plants. On the reverse two wide spread fruiting peach sprays. Round the foot three underglaze blue lines, on the base a wide circle in underglaze blue.
The enamelling is the main characteristic of Kakiemon and Kakiemon-style porcelain. As Imari, the enamel colours also developed out of the early enamels and became more transparent in time. In fact, the differences are minimal; it is the combination and the way of painting that makes it 'Kakiemon'. The vivid overglaze blue, the soft bluish-green, the brownish to light yellow, the light aubergine and especially the bight vermilion-red are characteristic. Black and gold are often used for details. Outlines are done in thin black lines drawn by a skilled and steady hand. A coffee-brown iron oxide is used on the edge of rims but never in the main decoration. (Jörg 2003/1, p.68)
Fitski states that 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. (Fitski 2011, pp.70-71, p.90 & p.97)
For a very similarly on the reverse decorated dish, please see:
Condition:
2012481: Two firing flaws.
2012482: Two firing flaws.
Reference:
Price: Both sold.
Japanese Kakiemon / Japanese Kakiemon-style wares - Japanese Kakiemon-style
Object 2012483
Dish
Japan (Arita / Kakiemon-style)
First half 18th century
Height 36 mm (1.42 inch), diameter of rim 186 mm (7.32 inch), diameter of footring 112 mm (4.41 inch) weight 257 grams (9.07 ounce (oz.))
Dish on footring. Five lobed rim, underglaze brown-edged rim. On the base a single spur-mark. Decorated in various overglaze enamels and gold with a single flower head in the centre. On the sides bamboo, pine and prunus growing from rockwork. Round the rim a cloud-pattern border in low relief. On the reverse five flower sprays. On the outer footring three concentric bands in iron-red.
The Three Friend of Winter
Bamboo [take]
Bamboo is evergreen, and pliable, yet very strong. It is quickly 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 mume and pine. (Fitski 2011, p.148)
Pine [matsu]
The pine tree, 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. It is most frequently depicted in combination with the prunus and the bamboo as the Three Friends of Winter. (Fitski 2011, p.151)
Prunus mume [ume]
In China, the blossoms of the Prunus mumu symbolize purity and renewel, and occur very early on in Chinese painting, frequently in combination with pine and bamboo (the Three Friends of Winter). 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 loved 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. (Fitski 2011, p.153)
Condition: Fine crazing to the glaze caused during the cooling down process after the firing process.
Reference:
Fitski 2011, p.148, p.151 & p.153
Price: Sold.
Chinese Imari 1700-1800
Object 2011517
Miniature "doll's house" vase
China
c.1700
Height 65 mm (2.56 inch), diameter 31 mm (1.22 inch), diameter of mouthrim 8 mm (0.31 inch), diameter of footring 19 mm (0.75 inch), weight 28 grams (0.99 ounce (oz.))
Miniature "doll's house" vase on a conical partially glazed in the center base. Chinese Imari, decorated in underglaze blue, overglaze iron-red and gold with grasses and a flowering plant. On the neck two flower sprays.
At the beginning of the 18th century, there was a fashion among wealthy Dutch ladies to have models made on the scale of a house, the so called "doll's houses". The rooms of these doll's houses were furnished with miniature pieces of porcelain, furniture, paintings, upholstery and all other sorts of objects that would have belonged to the interior of a wealthy home. These doll's houses were very costly and certainly not meant for children to play with but were proudly displayed for friends and visitors and regarded as extremely luxurious items - counterparts of the cabinets of curiosities that were a fashionable hobby of rich men. Only a few of these doll's houses have been preserved. One example can be found in the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague showing an 18th century room with porcelain miniatures in cupboards and on brackets along the wall. In reality the majority of these "miniature doll's house vases" would have been part of the interior. A good example of an authentic porcelain room is the famous cabinet in Pommersfelden Castle, Germany, where groups of pieces on brackets are surrounded by these miniature vases lining the borders of the consoles. (Jörg & Flecker 2001, pp.50-51)
Condition: A firing flaw an two fleabites to the inner foot.
Reference:
Price: € 129 - $ 134 - £ 110
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Japanese Imari 1690-1800 - Dishes
Object 2012478
Dish
Japan
1700-1720
Height 31 mm (1.22 inch), diameter 186 mm (7.32 inch), diameter of footring 95 mm (3.74 inch), weight 283 grams (9.98 ounce (oz.))
Dish on footring, flat rim. On the base a single spur-mark with its cone still intact and attached. Imari, decorated in underglaze blue, iron-red, green and black enamel and gold with an opened pavilion in a garden landscape with a flowering tree growing from behind the pavilion and a flowering plant growing from rock work. On the sides and rim four shaped panels filled with bamboo and various flowering plants alternating with flower heads and leafy scrolls on an underglaze blue ground. The reverse is undecorated.
For an identically shaped, sized and decorated dish, please see:
The original Japanese pavilion-pattern was copied by the Worcester factory (1770-1775), see this identically shaped, sized and decorated Worcester dish from a private English coillection.
Condition: Perfect.
Reference:
Price: Sold.
Japanese Kakiemon / Japanese Kakiemon-style wares - Japanese Kakiemon
Object 2012476
Dish
Japan (Kakiemon)
1680-1700
Height 32 mm (1.26 inch), diameter of rim 221 mm (8.70 inch), diameter of footring 136 mm (5.35 inch) weight 370 grams (13.05 ounce (oz.))
Dish on footring, moulded sides with a scalloped underglaze brown-edged rim. On the base five spur-marks in a W-pattern. Decorated in underglaze blue. In the centre a river scene with a small cabin on three poles in the water connected by a bridge to a large rock with blossoming prunus. In the background mountains with clouds and a flock of birds. On the foreground a seated fisherman near a shore with houses and pulled up drying fishing nets. The ten panels on the sides are respectively filled with a stylised flower, a scholar with his attendant carrying a parasol in a garden landscape, a pheasant (phoenix?) near a flowering plant, bamboo plants growing from and near rock work and a dragon with a flaming pearl. On the reverse a scroll with pendent karakusa, on the base a square fuku (good luck) mark in running script.
For a very similar decorated octagonal dish, please see:
- Fine & Curious: Japanese Export Porcelain in Dutch Collections, (C.J.A. Jörg, Hotei Publishing, Amsterdam 2003), p.148, cat. 164.
- Kakiemon Porcelain. A Handbook. (M. Fitski, Leiden University Press, Leiden & Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, 2011), p.143, cat. 162.
Jörg states that apparently, the depiction of the small cabin or pavilion in the water is rare and no identical pieces seem to be recorded in the literature, although a derivation of the motif is seen in a panel on a bowl in the Shibata collection. (Kyushu 1997, cat. 225). The combination of a phoenix with a flaming pearl is highly unusual. (Jörg 2003/1, p.148, cat. 164)
Condition: A circular firing flaw that has been secured with old copper wire restorations and a chip to the rim.
References:
Jörg 2003/1, cat. 306 & 307, 307a, 308, 309, 310 & 311
Price: Sold.
Kraak Porcelain wares 1570-1645 - Closed Forms
Object 2012474
Jar
China
1610-1630
Height 98 mm (3.85 inch), diameter 126 mm (4.96 inch), diameter of mouthrim 70 mm (2.76 inch), diameter of footring 75 mm (2.95 inch), weight 397 grams (14.00 ounce (oz.))
Jar on high footring, globular body, short wide neck with everted rim. Decorated in underglaze blue on the foot with three groups of three dots. On the body three reserves filled with a flowering peony alternating with a flower head on a underglaze blue swastika-diaper pattern ground. round the rim florets between scrolls.
According to Rinaldi this Kendi can be classified as a closed form / exceptional design. (Rinaldi 1989, pp.190-191) She shows another quite exceptional small jar in Pl.253. The neck with a slightly everted mouthrim, is covered both inside and outside with a meander pattern.
Many of the closed forms, perhaps even the majority, lack one of the principal Kraak characteristics: thinness. Consequently most of these pieces are much heavier than their open counterparts. Yet it has become customary to include these forms among Kraak wares, although strictly speaking it would be more correct to refer to them as porcelain decorated in Kraak style. (Rinaldi 1989, p.166)
Similarly shaped and sized and decorated jars were found in the cargo of the wreck of Dutch East India Company (VOC) vessel the Witte Leeuw (1613) but are not otherwise very common. (Pijl-Ketel 1982, p.210)
For these similarly shaped and decorated jars, please see:
Condition: Some poped bubbles of glaze, caused during the firing process, a spreading hairline to the rim and a frit to the footring.
References:
Pijl-Ketel 1982, NG 1977-170W & OKS 1977/102.
Rinaldi 1989, p.166, pp.190-191, Pl. 253
Price: Sold.
Kraak Porcelain wares 1570-1645
Object 2010590
Dish
China
1640-1645
Height 52 mm (2.05 inch), diameter of rim 290 mm (11.42 inch), diameter of footring 163 mm (6.42 inch), weight 804 grams (28.36 ounce (oz.))
Dish on footring, slightly scalloped flat rim. Decorated in underglaze blue with a bird perched on a rock in a marshy landscape with flowering peonies and clouds encircled by an eight pointed scalloped medallion. On the sides and rim large panels filled with lingzhi alternating with dainty flowers alternating with narrow panels filled with a knotted ribbon between a swastika and scale pattern ground. On the reverse broad panels with rounded shapes alternating with narrow panels with hastily-drawn lingzhi.
According to Rinaldi this dish can be classified as a Border VII.3 dish. Borders in this group show a great variety in their decorative motifs. The most common bears the sunflower motif alternating with large and simply drawn symbols. Dishes with similar border were found among the shards from the São Gonçalo. The seven broad panels filled rounded shapes on the reverse of this specific dish are unusual because most dishes of the border VII 3. type have no more than four to six circles / rounded shapes on the reverse. (Rinaldi 1989, pp.106-108)
Dishes decorated on the sides with large panels filled with lingzhi alternating with dainty flowers alternating with narrow panels filled with a knotted ribbon between a swastika and scale pattern ground can be found amongst the cargo salvaged from the Hatcher Cargo (1640-45), for an example, please see:
Condition: A firing flaw an a chip to the footring, some very shallow glaze rough spots, a fleabite and a chip to the rim.
Reference:
Price: € 499 - $ 520 - £ 425
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Kraak Porcelain wares 1570-1645 - Closed Forms
Object 2012473
Small bottle
China
1600-1620
Height 154 mm (6.06 inch), diameter 75 mm (2.95 inch), diameter of mouthrim 19 mm (0.75 inch), diameter of footring 46 mm (3.62 inch), weight 191 grams (6.74 ounce (oz.))
A thickly potted small bottle with a pear-shaped body, tall tapering neck, slightly flared mouth with rolled mouth rim and low, thick, V-shaped foot ring. The recessed base is slightly convex and glazed. The small bottle is decorated in deep shades of cobalt blue, darkening in some areas to a blackish blue, beneath a blue-tinged glaze. The lower body is moulded with five wide and narrow vertical panels. The wide panels are decorated with a bird in a marshy landscape alternating with plants growing from taihu (garden) rocks. The narrow panels are decorated with vertical lines framed by curvy lines. The five narrow panels on the neck are decorated with pending strings of beads ending in tassels and are enclosed between two stylized ruyi-head borders. (Welsh 2008, p.152)
This small bottle can be classified as a closed form, pear-shaped bottle. The name defines the shape of these bottles: a rounded body low on the footring with a neck of varying length, often ending with a garlic-shaped protuberance. These bottles are often referred to as Persian flasks. Unlike Kraak bowls and dishes, footrims on bottles are thick, low almost rolled. Bases are glazed. The Hatcher cargo produced a large amount of full-size bottles, which are truly representative of the term "pear-shaped". In these late pieces the border on the shoulder is wide and may have a meander pattern or thick lines. A series of dots covers the rest of the neck. When it is present, the garlic shape at the end of the neck is decorated with triangular motifs connected by straight lines. The large panels sport the unusual decorations but the flying horse, painted vertically and head down, is a favourite motif. All these bottles are heavily potted. (Rinaldi 1989, pp.166-191)
Such pear-shaped bottles were common in the cargoes of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) ships returning to the Netherlands and frequently figure in the Company's records as pear-shaped bottles and "Persian" bottles are mentioned as separate items, but the difference between them is not yet clear. Several pieces of the same shape and with rather casual and simplified decoration were found in the Hatcher wreck, a Chinese Junk which sank c.1643. Thus this bottle is dated accordingly. Unlike dishes, saucers and bowls of Kraak porcelain, hollow forms such as bottles, ewers and jars do not have the characteristic thin body of Kraak porcelain and are more heavily potted. Nevertheless, all authors accept them as Kraak ware because of their decoration in - usually moulded - panels. (Jörg & Van Campen 1997, p.66)
Small moulded bottles are relatively rare in Dutch collections and seems unrecorded in literature so far.
Condition: A firing flaw to the inner footring, a fleabite, a frit and a hairline to the rim.
References:
Price: Sold.
Chinese wares over-decorated in the West 1700-1800 - Dutch over-decorated wares Amsterdams Bont
Object 2011985
Ewer
China
c.1700, over-decorated in the Netherlands, Amsterdams Bont, c.1730-1760
Height with cover 177 mm (6.97 inch), height without cover 147 mm (5.79 inch), diameter handle to spout 117 mm (4.61 inch), dimensions mouthrim 33 (1.30 inch) x 25 mm (0.98 inch), dimensions footring 43 mm (1.69 inch) x 36 mm (1.42 inch), weight with cover 273 grams (6.93 ounce (oz.)), weight cover 22 grams (10.78 ounce (oz.))
Small ewer on high, splayed foot, flattened pear-shaped body with moulded ruyi panels on either side, long curved spout and high handle. The beginning of the long curved handle and spout is shaped as an animals opened beak. Decorated in underglaze blue with flowering plants in the panels. Over-decorated in iron-red, gold and overglaze green enamel, in the Netherlands, Amsterdams Bont c.1730-1760. Marked on the base with, most pseudo-Chinese characters painted in overglaze iron-red. The cover is decorated and over-decorated en suite.
Such small ewers, which are quite common in Dutch collections, were probably parts of cruet sets arranged on a stand. They held oil and vinegar while other components of the set may have been small jars for mustard and spices like pepper. However pieces became lost or divided up between heirs with the result that no intact sets seem to be known. The shape may originally have been derived from a Persian or Indian metal model. (Jörg & Van Campen 1997, pp.111-112)
The shape of this small ewer derived from a larger original, for this original, please see:
Howard & Ayers state that the shape is copied with considerably accuracy from a Near Eastern copper ewer of a type which had been in use at this period for perhaps three centuries. The long handle and spout are of Persian style. (Howard & Ayers 1978, II, p.461)
The 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'. What makes this object interesting is that the Amsterdams Bont over-decoration is painted right over a chip to the neck and a glaze rough spot to the edge. These two damages were, most likely, caused after the first firing of the tea-caddy and before the second Amsterdams Bont over decoration firing, the crackled-ice pattern over the edge does not appear to be consistent.
For an identically shaped and sized ewer decorated in underglaze blue, please see:
- Pronken met Oosters Porselein, exhibition catalogue Gemeentemuseum Arnhem, (S. Hartog, Zwolle, 1990), p.73, cat. 61.
- Chinese Ceramics in the Collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. The Ming and Qing Dynasties, (C.J.A. Jörg in collaboration with J. van Campen, London, 1997), pp. 111-113 cat. 109.
Condition: A firing flaw and two fleabites to the cover. A restored chip to a corner of the foot.
References:
(Howard & Ayers 1978, II, p.461
Jörg & Van Campen 1997, cat. 109
Price: Sold.
Southeast Asia / Other Ceramics
Object 201050
Jarlet
(Southeast) China, Zhangzhou (Swatow)
1570-1650
Height 80 mm (3.15 inch), diameter 78 mm (3.07 inch), diameter of rim 26 mm (1.02 inch), diameter of footring 36 mm (1.42 inch), weight 104 grams (3.67 ounce (oz.))
Jarlet on footring with an angled shoulder, a short upright neck with a flaring upturned rim. Decorated in underglaze blue with a fruiting spray on the shoulder antiquities bound by knoitted strings. On the neck three leaves.
Condition: Some firing flaws to the base and body and a chip to the rim
Price: € 199 - $ 208 - £ 168
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Chinese wares over-decorated in the West 1700-1800 - Dutch over-decorated wares Amsterdams Bont - Other Designs
Object 2011978
Dish
China
1730-1750, over-decorated in the Netherlands, Amsterdams Bont, c.1730-1760
Height 25 mm (0.98 inch), diameter of rim 216 mm (8.50 inch), diameter of footring 120 mm (4.72 inch), weight 336 grams (11.85 ounce (oz.))
Dish on footring, flat rim. Decorated in underglaze blue with a flowering peony tree growing from taihu (pierced garden) rocks near a fence and a bird in flight. Round the the rim a trellis-pattern border. Over-decorated in the centre with iron-red, black and green overglaze enamel, in the Netherlands, Amsterdams Bont, c.1730-1760. Around the rim reserves filled with a diaper ground and half flower heads flanked by leafy scrolls. The reverse is undecorated.
Condition: Various fleabites and a chip to the rim. A chip to the inner footring.
Price: Sold.
Japanese Blue and White wares 17th Century - Dishes
Object 2011791
Dish
Japan, Arita presumably Sarugawa
1670-1690
Height 67 mm (2.64 inch), diameter of rim 369 mm (14.53 inch), diameter of footring 185 mm (7.28 inch), weight 1,867 grams (65.85 ounce (oz.))
Dish on footring, flat rim. Decorated in underglaze blue in the style of Chinese kraak porcelain. In the centre a decoration of two branches with fruit, one with pomegranates the other with finger-lemon fruit also called 'Buddha's-Hand citron' (Citrus medica). The sides divided into panels filled with stylised peonies and precious objects alternating with narrower panels of florets. The reverse is undecorated.
The pomegranate and Buddha's Hand citron (Citrus medica) symbolically represent fertility and happiness, together with the peach (longevity) they are being named 'The three Abundances'. (Arts 1983, p.140)
Although the border division copies kraak porcelain, the decoration of the two large branches filling the centre seems to be based on Chinese prototypes of the later Transitional-early Kangxi period. The Japanese potter combined two styles to create a hybrid, fashionable Japanese novelty. Dishes and plates of this design which were apparently popular, were made in different sizes. (Jörg 2003/1, p.28)
For identically decorated dishes, 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.54, cat. 8.
- Oriental Ceramics at the Cape of Good Hope 1652-1795. An account of the porcelain trade of the Dutch East India Company with particular reference to ceramics with the V.O.C. monogram, the Cape Market and South African Collections, (C.S. Woodward, Cape Town & Rotterdam, 1974), pp.20-21, cat. 26(b).
- Japanese Porcelain, (S. Jenyns, Faber & Faber, London / Boston, 1979), cat. 16a.
- Pronken met Oosters porselein, exhibition catalogue Gemeente Museum Arnhem, (S. Hartog, Waanders, Zwolle 1990), p.128, cat. 153.
- Mistrovská dĩla Japonského porcelánu / Masterpieces of Japanese Porcelain, (F. Suchomel, Prague 1997), p.77, cat. 25.
- Ceramics crossed overseas. Jingdezhen, Imari and Delft from the Collection of the Groninger Museum, (C.J.A. Jörg et al., Tokyo, 1999), p.30, cat. 27.
- Japanese Export Porcelain. Catalogue of the Collection of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, (O. Impey, Hotei Publishing, Amsterdam, 2002), p.109, cat. 128.
- Complete Catalogue of the Shibata Collection, (The Kyushu Ceramic Museum, Kyushu 2003), p.332, cat. 2595.
- Fine & Curious: Japanese Export Porcelain in Dutch Collections, (C.J.A. Jörg, Hotei Publishing, Amsterdam 2003), p.28, cat. 8.
Condition: Some firing flaws to the front and reverse side.
References:
Lunsingh Scheurleer 1971, cat. 8
Price: € 699 - $ 728 - £ 594
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Blue and White Kangxi Period 1662-1722 - Miniature Doll's House Vases
Object 2010694
A double gourd miniature "doll's house" vase
China
1700-1720
Height 53 mm (2.09 inch), diameter 31 mm (1.22 inch), diameter of mouthrim 6 mm (0.24 inch), diameter of footring 13 mm (0.51 inch), weight 22 grams (0.78 ounce (oz.))
A double-gourd miniature "doll's house" vase on footring. Decorated in underglaze blue with flowering plants and an insect in flight. on the shoulder a zig-zag lines pattern border. Around the neck two flower sprays.
At the beginning of the 18th century, there was a fashion among wealthy Dutch ladies to have models made on the scale of a house, the so called "doll's houses". The rooms of these doll's houses were furnished with miniature pieces of porcelain, furniture, paintings, upholstery and all other sorts of objects that would have belonged to the interior of a wealthy home. These doll's houses were very costly and certainly not meant for children to play with but were proudly displayed for friends and visitors and regarded as extremely luxurious items - counterparts of the cabinets of curiosities that were a fashionable hobby of rich men. Only a few of these doll's houses have been preserved. One example can be found in the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague showing an 18th century room with porcelain miniatures in cupboards and on brackets along the wall. In reality the majority of these "miniature doll's house vases" would have been part of the interior. A good example of an authentic porcelain room is the famous cabinet in Pommersfelden Castle, Germany, where groups of pieces on brackets are surrounded by these miniature vases lining the borders of the consoles. (Jörg & Flecker 2001, pp.50-51)
It was a popular pastime for the ladies of the Dutch patrician society to furnish doll's houses, whose various rooms reflected those of their own town palaces. Apart from the usual furniture, miniature versions of exotic luxury goods such as porcelain, fabrics, carpets and lacquer were obligatory. The doll's house of Petronella Oortman, now in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, and that of Lita de Ranitz in the Historical Museum of the Hague are considered to be the most prominent examples. The Chinese had produced miniature ceramics for almost one thousand years for the decoration of birdcages, therefore it was no problem for them to supply the Dutch with doll's house porcelain. Miniature pieces were also displayed in ordinary porcelain rooms in cupboards and on brackets along the wall. (Suebsman 2019, p.76)
Among the ceramic cargo of the Ca Mau shipwreck (1725) identical shaped miniature doll's house vases decorated with stylised flowers and foliage within fine borders were found. (Amsterdam 2007, p.186)
Condition: Perfect.
References:
Price: Sold.
Japanese Imari 1690-1800 - Tableware and other Porcelain with Western Shapes
Object 2011975
Shaving bowl
Japan
1700-1730
Height 71 mm (2.80 inch), diameter of rim 164 mm (6.46 inch), diameter of footring 100 mm (3.94 inch), weight 937 grams (33.05 ounce (oz.))
Shaving bowl on high footring. Flat 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, aubergine and yellow enamel with a central design of a flower pot on a low table on a terrace filled with flowering plants encircled by intertwined leaves. In the middle in the glaze, a large ring was, supposed to be, left unglazed but is glazed. On the rim three reserves each outlined with leafy scrolls alternating with branches of a flowering tree. On the reverse two wide spread prunus sprays.
Shaving bowls were used by barbers and were indispensable in the Dutch household too. They were made of earthenware, pewter, copper and even silver. They had an alternative use namely, to let blood from a vein in the arm during blood-letting, a medical procedure thought to drain bad blood from the system 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 the 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 are for a cord 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. Chinese shaving bowls usually have the holes in the footring while Japanese examples have them in the rim. (Jörg 2003/1, p.184), (Sargent 2012, p.189)
Most shaving basins are decorated in Imari, but this example was made in one of the smaller kilns which used a different technique, in which the objects were stacked on to each other in the oven while in the middle of the shaving basin, in the glaze, a large ring was left unglazed in order to prevent that the objects would stick to each other during the firing process. That ring is sometimes quite visible, on this object it is subtly hidden in the decoration in enamel colours. (source: Fraeylema Nieuws, number 52, September 2015)
Condition: Various firing flaws to the reverse and a tiny fleabite to one of the corners of the cut-out section.
References:
Fraeylema Nieuws, number 52, September 2015
Price: € 799 - $ 842 - £ 670
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Chine de commande – Armorial / Pseudo-Armorial wares 1700-1800 - Armorial
Object 2012454
Saucer
China
1750-1760
Height 21 mm (8.83 inch), diameter of rim 115 mm (4.53 inch), diameter of footring 69 mm (2.72 inch), weight 59 grams (2.08 ounce (oz.))
Saucer on footring, straight rim. Decorated in encre de Chine (grisaille), iron-red, gold and blue enamel with a yet unknown coat of arms: the arms are quarterly, 1. and 4. a pegasus, 2. and 3. two bars. The crest a pegasus on top of coronet. The mantling comprise symmetrical scrollwork and ropes of pearls in European style. Round the rim strapwork in Du Paquier style. The reverse is undecorated.
Saucer, part of a tea service of which15 pieces were sold at Sotheby's Amsterdam in 1994 comprising a teapot, milk jug , sugar bowl with cover, a teapot stand, a saucer dish, five tea cups and five saucers. In addition to the illustrated saucer, one other turned up in a private collection and two milk jugs of h. 13.3 cm were sold at Christie's London in 1999. The arms have been incorrectly attributed to the Stapert family from Friesland. They are probably the arms of a Frisian or East Frisian family: in the Amsterdam 1994 sale two other lots in the same section - and possibly from the same collection or collector - comprised porcelain with Frisian and East Frisian arms, such as De Pottere and Van Wingene. (Kroes 2007, pp.532-533)
For this specific saucer, please see:
Condition: Some popped bubbles of glaze, caused by the firing process, a fleabite, a short hairline and two frits one with a short connected hairline all to the rim.
Reference:
Price: € 999 - $ 1,080 - £ 835
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Blue and White wares since 1722
Object 2012467
Vase
China
c.1740-60
Height 163 mm (2.84 inch), dimensions foot 55 mm (2.17 inch) x 55 mm (2.17 inch), dimensions belly 65 mm (5.56 inch) x 65 mm (2.56 inch), dimensions mouth 28 mm (1.10 inch) mm x 28 mm (1.10 inch), weight 270 grams (9.52 ounce (oz.))
Vase on square broad flat foot with recessed glazed center, the foot steeply tapering with straight sides to the body of the vase. The four sides spreading to the recessed shoulder which support the four sided neck ending in a everted square mouth. Decorated in underglaze blue with on the foot a lappet border with half flower heads on an underglaze blue ground. On the sides a scholar with a servant in a garden landscape with rocks, trees and plants alternating with a bird perched on a branch of a fruiting pomegranate tree. On the shoulder half flower heads on an underglaze blue ground and on the neck reserves filled with book rolls tied together with a knotted string and a large flower spay alternating with a fruiting spray and a large flower spray.
The vase is of an unusual shape that may have derived from a contemporary Chinese bronze vase. No comparable pieces could be traced in literature. It must have required special skills to make and must have been difficult to fire. The cracks and crackled glaze were was most likely caused by the shape after the firing during the cooling down process.
Condition: The glaze partly crackled and cracked due to the cooling down process after the firing probably caused by the unusual shape, some firing flaws and a fleabite to the outer rim.
Price: € 999 - $ 1,080 - £ 835
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Japanese Tea, Coffee and Chocolate wares 18th Century
Objects 2012455
Tea bowl and saucer
Japan
1700-1720
Height of tea bowl 41 mm (1.61 inch), diameter of rim 70 mm (2.76 inch), diameter of footring 23 mm (0.91 inch), weight 40 grams (1.41 ounce (oz.))
Height of saucer 21 mm (0.83 inch), diameter of rim 119 mm (4.69 inch), diameter of footring 63 mm (2.48 inch), weight 87 grams (3.07 ounce (oz.))
Tea bowl and saucer on footrings, straight sides with slightly flaring rims. Imari decorated in underglaze blue, iron-red, black, gold and various other overglaze enamel colours, with four fishermen, two in a boat and two walking with a running dog on a bridge near a village with trees, rocks, mountains, houses and a lighthouse with flags. In the background even more mountains with trees and houses. On the rim a zig-zag lines pattern border. On the reverse three flower sprays. The tea bowl is decorated en suite.
Earlier sold object 2012088, (not included in this sale/offer).
Jörg describes a saucer with a similar but historical more important decoration. On this Imari decorated saucer we see a scene with the same two fisherman who now are having a pick nick on a rocky river-bank with besides them a Hamper and a bottle inscribed with the Initials 'F.W'. A teacup with this rare decoration was donated by Pater Gratia Oriental Art to the collection of Oriental ceramics in the Groninger Museum in March 2012. (Jörg 2003/1, p.221)
For an identically shaped, sized and decorated earlier sold tea bowl and saucer, please see:
Condition:
Teacup: Some firing flaws and dull glaze to one side of the cup.
Saucer: Two firing flaws to the reverse rim.
Reference:
Price: Sold.
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