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; September 23, 2021.
Two new categories named 'Bargain SALE Chinese porcelain' and 'Bargain SALE Japanese porcelain' have been created. The categories can be found in the left side menu.
In these categories Chinese and Japanese export porcelain objects for sale are now offered at a significantly reduced price.
If you are interested in a purchase, or want more information, one of the objects in these categories please feel free to contact me at: patergratiaorientalart@hotmail.com
Japanese Imari 1690-1800
Object 2012422
Bowl
Japan
1700-1730
Height 85 mm (3.35 inch), diameter of rim 165 mm (6.50 inch), diameter of footring 72 mm (2.83 inch), weight 453 grams (15.98 ounce (oz.))
Bowl on footring, spreading sides with an everted rim. Imari decorated in underglaze blue, iron-red, green, black enamel and gold with a continuous flowering prunus and bamboo scroll. Round the foot an upturned pointed leaves-pattern border in iron-red. On the foot a double and on the base a single concentric band. On the bottom a flower spray in a double concentric band. Round the inner rim four reserves filled with flower heads reserved on wavy pattern ground in iron-red and gold.
A classical bowl and a good example of the mature Imari style with a characteristic dense but well painted desgn.
Condition: Some wear to the iron-red and golden decoration and a fleabite to the footring.
Price: Sold.
Japanese Blue and White wares 17th Century
Object 2012421
Bowl
Japan
First quarter 18th century
Height 55 mm (2.17 inch), diameter of rim 150 mm (5.90 inch), diameter of foot 37 mm (1.46 inch), weight 194 grams (6.84 ounce (oz.))
Bowl on a firing ring, spreading sides with a slightly flaring rim. Decorated in underglaze blue with a seated lady, flanked by children holding and waving a fan, in a theatre like setting. The lady observes the lodge of the theatre filled with a hundred children. The reverse is undecorated.
The lady depicted is most likely the Chinese goddess Guan Yin. Porcelain decorated with this design is known as 'Guan Yin in the hall of the hundred children'. Two versions of the design are known, one as described the other with a banderol filled with Chinese characters just above the box of the seated Guan Yin. The dishes were probably made from the end of the seventeenth century and for many decades. The design probably originated from China. Dishes like these were usually given to family members, whishing them rich offspring.
Guan Yin is the fertility goddess who left the greatest impact in the mortal world with many temples built in her honour. The ancient Chinese believed that after one prayed to her and brought a pair of embroidered shoes home, one would conceive a son soon. In some Chinese families today, she is a revered figure. Guan Yin is usually depicted as a beautiful, dignified and benevolent goddess carrying a child or holding a vase with a willow branch in it. These symbolise her duties of 'bestowing sons' and 'showering of compassion on mortal world'.
The Legend of Guan Yin Bringing Sons
Long ago there was a Taoist priest who needed the hearts of hundred young boys to produce the elixir of life. So he kidnapped hundred boys and locked them up in a dark room first.
Coincidentally on this night, Guan Yin was passing by and heard the cries of the children, She saw the priest sharpening his knife beside a pill on the table. Guan Yin flicked the pill away. She drew the priest out of the dark room and saved the children. However, Guan Yin did not know where the children stayed or who their parents were. Then she remembered hearing of an official in his fourties who was corrupt and childless. She thought of teaching him a lesson so she left the hundred children at his doorstep.
Upon discovering the children, the couple kept two children and decided to sell the rest for ten taels of silver per child. By dawn the next day. all the children had been taken away by many men and women. A magistrate's runner reported a young lady was responsible for it and she lived in the abode of Guan Yin. The couple knew it was the act of Guan Yin and died out of fright.
In this way, the story of Guan Yin bringing sons spread among the people. Now childless couples would pray to Guan Yin for a healthy baby. (Chinese Auspicious Culture, Beijing Foreign Language Press)
Other than on dishes the design of the 'The Legend of Guan Yin Bringing Sons' is rarely found. On bowls decorated with the design only one other similarly shaped, sized and decorated example seems to be recorded in literature.
For a comparison between a similarly shaped, sized and decorated Japanese bowl and a Chinese bowl, please see:
For an identically decorated dish, please see:
For an similarly decorated dish with a banderol filled with Chinese characters, please see:
-
Sold Ceramics - Sold Japanese Blue and White wares 17th Century - Dishes - Page 2 - Object 2012237.
- 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.72, cat. 62.
For a similarly decorated, Japanese bowl, please see:
- The Shibata Collection Part I, (The Kyushu Ceramic Museum, Kyushu, 1990), p.175, cat. 470.
- Complete Catalogue of the Shibata Collection, (The Kyushu Ceramic Museum, Kyushu 2003), p.396, cat. 3111.
Condition: Two firing flaws to the rim.
References:
Lunsingh Scheurleer 1971, cat. 61 & 62
Price: Sold.
Famille Rose wares 1725-1800
Object 2011618
Dish
China
1730-1740
Height 25 mm (0.98 inch), diameter 229 mm (9.02 inch), diameter of footring 124 mm (4.88 inch), weight 325 grams (11.46 ounce (oz.))
Dish on footring with a flat underglaze brown-edged rim (jia mangkou). Decorated in various famille rose enamels and gold with a central peony-spray and a shi-tzu a Chinese Buddhist Lion-dog (Dog of Fo) sitting on taihu (garden) rocks. On the rim reserves filled with half flowerheads and reserves filled with a trellis pattern both on a whorl-pattern ground. The reverse is undecorated.
The 'Chinese lion' or shi-tzu (Dog of Fo) is supposed to be the Chinese conception of a creature never seen in China but told of by travellers or copied from the pictures from India as there are no records of lions in ancient Chinese writings before about 250 A.D. It is also called a Chinese Dog or Dog of Fo (Buddha) from which it is clear that dog-like characteristics prevail over the original leonine ones. The lion symbolizes guardianship and protection, from which belief is derived the practice of placing statues of lions at the doors of palaces and tombs as guardians of both the living and the dead against all evil.
For an identically shaped, sized and decorated, sold, dish, please see:
Sold Ceramics - Sold Famille Rose wares 1725-1800 - Dishes - Page 1 - Object 2010285.
This design was copied by Samson in Paris in the second half of the 19th century.
(This dish is not included in this sale/offer)
Condition: Three fleabites and a filled frit with a connected hairline to the reverse rim.
References:
Jacquemart & Le Blant 1862, pp. 77-105
Price: € 199 - $ 234 - £ 169
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Polychrome wares other since 1722
Object 2011041
Dish
China
1720-1730
Height 40 mm (1.57 inch), diameter of rim 225 mm (8.86 inch), diameter of footring 134 mm (5.28 inch), weight 369 grams (13.02 ounce (oz.))
Dish on footring with a straight underglaze brown-edged rim (jia mangkou). Decorated in underglaze blue and famille verte enamels, iron-red, blue, yellow, gray, black enamel and gold with a tree and various flowering plants in a central roundel, The sides are undecorated. Round the rim four cartouches filled with flowering plants reserved on a diaper pattern border. On the reverse two peony flower sprays.
Tree-worship was widely spread throughout China in ancient times, as is evidenced for a long time by the reluctance of the people to cut down trees in the neighbourhood of temples and graves. Often, the shrine of a local god was placed at the roots or in the fork of a tree remarkable for its size and beauty. It was believed that the soul of the god resides in the tree, which is therefore held to be sacred. If dug up or cut down, the person doing so was liable to die. There are many references in Chinese literature to trees that bleed and utter cries of pain or indignation when hewed down. A strip of red cloth or paper is often attached to a tree in order to keep it safe from the spirits of evil, who always avoid that particular colour of happiness and good fortune. (Williams 1976, pp.407-408)
Condition: A popped bubble of glaze, caused by the firing process, a firing flaw and a fleabite to the rim.
References:
Price: € 399 - $ 473 - £ 343
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Japanese Blue and White wares 17th Century - Dishes
Object 2011971
Dish
Japan
1670-1690
Height 65 mm (2.56 inch), diameter of rim 313 mm (12.32 inch), diameter of footring 137 mm (5.39 inch), weight 1.223 grams (43.14 ounce (oz.))
Dish on footring, wide flat rim. On the base four spur-marks in a Y-pattern. Decorated in underglaze blue. The central design shows three pheasant, one perched on a rock amongst flowering peonies and two in flight above. The sides and rim, in Chinese kraak style, are divided into wide panels (fuyõ-de) filled with flowering plants alternating with auspicious symbols and separated from each other by narrow panels filled with ornamental tassels. On the reverse two stylised sprays.
This dish presents a simplified version of the type design found on the kraak porselein dishes that were exported in such numbers to the West from China earlier in the century. The Dutch had turned to the Japanese kilns when this trade collapsed, following the fall of the Ming dynasty in 1644. It is intriguing to see the liberties taken with these now out-of-date designs. (Ayers, Impey & Mallet 1990, p.101)
For a Chinese kraak dish that may have served as an example for the design with Japanese and Dutch (Delft) copies, please see:
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.53, cat. 4 & 5.
- 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.35 cat. 20.
- Japanese porcelain. A collector's guide to general aspects and decorative motifs, (P.L.W. Arts, Lochem 1983), p.37, Plate 8b & 8c.
- Hizen wares abroad, The 10th anniversary special exhibition, (Kyushu Ceramic Museum, Kyushu, 1990), p.16, cat. 15.
- Mistrovská dĩla Japonského porcelánu / Masterpieces of Japanese Porcelain, (F. Suchomel, Prague 1997), p.74, cat. 16.
- Austrumu porcellans un Niderlande. Austrumu un Rietumu mijiedarbiba 17. gadsimta / Oriental Porcelain and the Netherlands. Interaction between East and West in the 17th century, (C.J.A. Jörg, Art Museum Riga Bourse, Riga, 2011), pp.92-93, cat. 15.
- 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.118, Fig. 6.
For a similarly decorated dish marked with the Chokichidani (Arita) ovens mark within a double-lined circle in underglaze blue, please see:
Condition: Some firing flaws, caused by the firing process and a chip to the outer footring.
References:
Lunsingh Scheurleer 1971, cat. 4 & 5
Ayers, Impey & Mallet 1990, p.101
Price: € 299 - $ 355 - £ 256
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Couples
Object 2012414
Teapot
China
c.1745
Height with cover 135 mm (5.31 inch), height without cover 95 mm (3.74 inch), diameter handle to spout 200 mm (7.87 inch), diameter of mouthrim 62 mm (2.44 inch), diameter of footring 52 mm (2.05 inch), weight including cover 470 grams (16.58 ounce (oz.)), weight cover 89 grams (3.14 ounce (oz.))
Teapot of globular shape on footring. Straight spout with a curved C-shaped handle. Domed pierced cover and pointed knob. Decorated in iron-red, encre de Chine and gold after an unknown source, showing a European couple seated on the trunk of a tree in a garden landscape flanked by a boy appearing from the bushes behind and a running dog. The cover is decorated with a running dog under a tree.
The source of this romantic scene is not known, but it may have been derived from a European engraving / print.
For a similarly decorated saucer, please see:
Condition: A professionally restored tip of the knob and a sealed hairline from one side, through the bottom, to the other side.
Reference:
Price: € 450 - $ 531 - £ 386
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Japanese Blue and White wares 17th Century
Object 2012362
Dish
Japan
c.1700
Height 28 mm (1.10 inch), diameter of rim 206 mm (8.11 inch), diameter of footring 118 mm (4.65 inch), weight 351 grams (12.38 ounce (oz.))
Moulded dish on footring, scalloped rim. On the base three spur-marks. Decorated in underglaze blue with a bird perched on a branch in a marshy landscape with rocks, plants, clouds and an insect in flight. On the sides and rim eight blank panels moulded in low relief, each impressed with a stylised plant. On the reverse three concentric lines one near and two on the footring. On the base a square mark in a single concentric band.
The first characteristic of moulded Japanese objects follows a tradition set by the Japanese makers of blue and white Kakiemon style porcelains in the 17th century. This tradition was for high quality moulding and other complex treatments of rims and borders, sometimes also with other moulding in low relief. The second characteristic is that it uses Late Ming (and sometimes earlier) styles, grids and motifs. These items of design were presumably taken from carefully treasured heirloom pieces imported into Japan about 1620 when the Japanese first made porcelain. Panelled Kraak designs may have been provided by the Dutch to be copied.
The use of drawings in the coarse bold 'free' Chinese late Kraak style shown had already been extensively used for the West during the Great Export Period on many but not all of the copies of panelled Kraak style wares. It proved to be a long lasting favourite in Japan. New carefully moulded borders were added however, making a strong contrast. Some of the new borders in perhaps the second quarter of the 18th century had a celadon glaze. Dating of some of these pieces is however still controversial. Some in the second half of the 18th century had borders with low relief designs and patterns. (Finch 1998, pp.14-15, cat. 73 & 74)
For dishes with moulded borders in low relief please see:
- The Lost Century, Japanese Arita Porcelain 1720 - 1820 in Britain: Selective Catalogue, (I. Finch, exhibition catalogue Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, 1998), p.15, cat 73 & 74.
- Complete Catalogue of the Shibata Collection, (The Kyushu Ceramic Museum, Kyushu 2003), p.421, cat. 3306
Condition: A firing flaw and some tiny firing tension glaze hairlines, caused by the firing process, to the reverse rim. A hairline to the rim.
References:
Price: € 449 - $ 519 - £ 384
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Chine de commande - Armorial / Pseudo-Armorial wares 1700-1800 - Armorial - British
Objects 2010858 & 2012859
Teapot with cover and stand
China
c.1760
Provenance: Polly Latham, Boston, USA.
Teapot with cover: height (with cover) 132 mm (5.19 inch), height (without cover) 94 mm (3.70 inch), diameter handle to spout 195 mm (7.68 inch), diameter of mouthrim 64 mm (2.52 inch), diameter of footring 64 mm (2.52 inch), weight with cover 415 grams (14.64 ounce (oz.)), weight cover 72 grams (2.54 ounce (oz.))
Stand: height 23 mm (0.91 inch), dimensions 119 mm (4.69 inch) x 130 mm (5.12 inch), weight cover 109 grams (3.84 ounce (oz.))
Teapot of globular shape on footring, straight spout with a curved C-shaped handle. Domed cover and pointed knob. Polychrome decorated in yellow, rose, red, blue, green and white overglaze enamels, black / grisaille and gold with an the Arms of Crichton of Ruthven in Scotland, Argent a lion rampant azure armed and langued gules on a chief of the second three lozenges of the first; crest, a pillar argent; motto 'Stand sure'; impaling Freke, Sable two bars and in chief three mullets or, flanked by flower sprays. Round the rim a spearhead-pattern border. On the cover two flower sprays with a spearhead-pattern border round the rim. On the base an oval paper dealer label that reads: 'Polly Latham' with the handwritten number; 3762 in black ink.
Hexagonal teapot stand or saucer dish with spreading upright sides, a deeply scalloped rim and a flat unglazed base with adhering kiln sand. Used as teapot or milk jug stand. Polychrome decorated in yellow, rose, red, blue, green and white overglaze enamels, black / grisaille and gold with an the Arms of Crichton of Ruthven in Scotland, Argent a lion rampant azure armed and langued gules on a chief of the second three lozenges of the first; crest, a pillar argent; motto 'Stand sure'; impaling Freke, Sable two bars and in chief three mullets or, flanked by flower sprays. On the rim a spearhead-pattern border. On the base of the stand an oval paper dealer label that reads: 'Polly Latham'
The Crichtons of Ruthven are a cadet branch of the Crichtons of Crichton. There are two services with Crichton alone. It seems most probable that this branch of the family were connected with the East India Company; probably marrying a Freke of Melcombe in Dorset, or Hannington in Wiltshire. Patrick Crichton was first officer on the East Indiaman 'Earl of Elgin' at Canton in 1764. See chapter on the Earl of Elgin in Geoffrey Godden's book on Chinese export porcelain. This is also possibly for a daughter of Mr. S. Freke, Governor of Bengal from 1733 to 1738.
The Freke family, bearing these arms, are descended from Robert Freke of Shorton in Dorset - Teller of the Exchequer in the reigns of Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth. (Howard 1974, p. 453, cat. P16)
There is a cup and saucer with identically armorial design (No.827+) in the British Museum and in April 1969 Sotheby's sold two plates and in 1970 a teapot, stand and teapoy with identically armorial design. (Howard 1974, p.453, cat. P16)
For an Illustration of a (tea) bowl from the Clive Rouse Collection with identical armorial design please see:
For an Illustration of a dish from the Phil. Cooke Collection with identical armorial design please see:
For an Illustration of a milk jug with the Crichton armorial design in encre de Chine please see:
For an Illustration of a dish with the Crichton armorial design in underglaze blue please see:
For an Illustration of a dish with the Erdeswick quarterly impaling Crichton armorial design in underglaze blue please see:
Condition teapot: A firing flaw to the inner footring.
Condition stand: Two popped bubbles of glaze, caused by the firing process, to the rim.
References:
Price: € 2,999 - $ 3,560 - £ 2,560
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Blue and White wares since 1722
Object 2012315
Covered cup
China
1720-1750
Height with cover 125 mm (4.92 inch), diameter of rim (ex handles) 98 mm (3.86 inch), diameter of footring 52 mm (2.05 inch), weight with cover 366 grams (12.91 ounce (oz.)), weight cover 124 grams (4.37 ounce (oz.))
A covered (sugar-candy) cup on a high splayed food with a domed cover with finial, applied with two lobbed handles. Decorated in underglaze blue with a garden landscape with a large flowering peony and a bamboo plant growing from behind a fence. Round the rim four reserves filled with fruit on a diaper-pattern ground. On the splayed foot two groups of flowering aster. The cover is decorated en suite.
Such covered cups where most likely made after a European form and may have been used to keep lumps of sugar-candy which were served when drinking tea.
For a similarly shaped covered cup, please see:
Condition: A popped bubble of glaze, caused by the firing process and a glaze rough spot to the rim of the cover. Two shallow glaze rough spots to the underside of both handles and a chip to the inner footring.
References:
Price: € 449 - $ 519 - £ 384
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Japanese Blue and White wares 17th Century
Object 2010939
Covered jar (coverted into a waterpot)
Japan
c.1700
Height with cover 156 mm (6.14 inch), height without cover 148 mm (5.83 inch), diameter of rim 176 mm (6.93 inch), diameter of footring 105 mm (4.13 inch), weight with cover 1,229 grams (43.35 ounce (oz.)), weight cover 126 grams (4.44 ounce (oz.))
Cylindrical jar on high foot, recessed base. The original cover is missing and replaced with a wooden domed cover. Decorated in underglaze blue with a continuous mountain / riverlandscape with a figure on a bridge, houses and a large pine tree. Round the foot a double concentric band. The replaced wooden cover is painted black.
This converted jar might have be used as waterpot.
Condition: A small shallow chip to the rim.
Price: Sold.
Japanese Tea, Coffee and Chocolate wares 18th Century
Object 2011562
Coffee pot
Japan
1700-1720
Height with cover 330 mm (12.99 inch), height without cover 280 mm (11.02 inch), diameter handle to spout 252 mm (9.92 inch), diameter of mouthrim 91 mm (3.58 inch), diameter of footring 166 mm (6.54 inch), weight with cover 1,891 grams (66.70 ounce (oz.)), weight cover 93 grams (3.28 ounce (oz.))
Coffee pot of conical shape on three flat modelled feet. Curved, flat pierced handle, replaced wooden domed cover with pointed knob knob with a contemporary Dutch silver chain between the top of the handle and the cover. The hole for the mounted Dutch brass tap in the lower part is surrounded by a kiku-flower modelled in low relief. Dcorated in underglaze blue, iron-red and gold with four shaped panels filled with flowering plants and grasses in gold on an underglaze blue ground with scrolling foliage in gold.
The combination of the underglaze blue and golden decoration produces a splendid decorative effect.
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)
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 decorated tea-caddy, in the collection of Oriental ceramics of the Groninger Museum, please see:
Condition: A firing tension hairline, caused by the firing process and a frit to the handle.
References:
Ayers, Impey & Mallet 1990, p.213
Price: Sold.
Shipwreck Porcelains - The Nanking Cargo, 1752
Object 2011408
Teacup and saucer
China
Provenance: The Nanking Cargo sale, Christie's Amsterdam, 28 April - 2 May 1986
1752
Height of teacup 37 mm (1.46 inch), diameter of rim 75 mm (2.95 inch), diameter of footring 32 mm (1.26 inch), weight 43 grams (1.52 ounce (oz.))
Height of saucer 20 mm (0.79 inch), diameter of rim 115 mm (4.52 inch), diameter of footring 67 mm (2.64 inch), weight 62 grams (2.19 ounce (oz.))
Teacup and saucer on footrings, straight rims. Chinese Imari, decorated in underglaze blue, iron-red, gold and overglaze green enamel with a large leafy pine rising from a smaller cluster of bamboo on a terrace, within bands of scrolls, and trellis at the rim. The reverse is undecorated. The teacup is decorated en suite. On the bases of both the teacup and the saucers the original circular paper Christie's The Nanking Cargo sale lot 5727 labels proving they have been one of 125 similar teacups and saucers sold in lot 5727. (Amsterdam 1986, pp.264-265)
On Monday January 3, 1752, the Dutch East India Company, (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC) ship 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 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)
The design on this teacup and saucer is known as the 'The Bamboo and Pine' pattern. In total 1,037 teacups and saucers and 50 teacups without saucers with the 'The Bamboo and Pine' pattern, were sold divided over the lots: 5716-5733. (Amsterdam 1986, pp.264-265)
The iron-red, gold and green enamel overglaze decoration on this teacup and saucer has been very well preserved after being submerged in the salt sea water for 233 years. It gives a good impression of what the original overglaze decoration, often completely deteriorated by the salt sea water, originaly looked like.
Condition teacup: A short hairline to the rim.
Condition saucer: Two firing tension hairlines (only visible on one side), caused by the firing process.
References:
Price: Sold.
Blue and White wares since 1722 - Tea, Coffee and Chocolate wares
Object 2012416
Saucer
China
1723-1735
Height 19 mm (0.75 inch), diameter of rim 115 mm (4.53 inch), diameter of footring 64 mm (2.52 inch), weight 56 grams (1.98 ounce (oz.))
Saucer on footring, slightly everted rim. Decorated in underglaze blue with a nightly scene of a man standing in a garden landscape greeting a woman with a child in her arms floating on a cloud. Around the rim a small zig-zag lines pattern border. The reverse is undecorated.
The woman with a child in her arms is, by floating on a cloud, characterized as a heavenly being. According to Butler, she is Qiqiannü, the seventh daughter of the heavenly King of Jade. In the popular Han Dynasty legend 'The Heavenly Mariage' (Tian Xianpei), the immortal princess secretly marries the mortal Dong Yong. When her father find out about this, he orders her back to heaven, permitting her to meet her husband only once a year. Upon meeting him for the first time, one year after her return to heaven, she shows him her new-born child. This scene was also depicted on blue-and-white porcelain in the late Ming Dynasty.
For a similarly in 'Milk and Blood' decorated Chinese dish, please see :
According to Aronson Delftware Antiquairs sinds 1881, he woman with the child in her arms hovers on a cloud, which characterizes her as a heavenly being and may suggest her identity as the Goddess Guan Yin. An icon of mercy and passion, Guan Yin also holds a strong connection to the Chinese porcelain objects. Although Guan Yin reached enlightenment, she decided to stay on Earth, remaining a “Pu Sa.” She wanted to help humankind achieve better karma, leading them to the Western Heavens to achieve serenity and joy. Because she had the ability to comfort the sick and senile, Guan Yin was broadly admired and adored. She touched their hearts and souls, creating a sense of peace and relief amongst those who were less fortunate. Guan Yin is also often worshipped by people wanting a child and is therefore also seen as the bringer of children, hence the baby she is carrying in her arms. (www.aronson.com/milk-blood-porcelain-delftware/)
For a Delft faience large dish, c.1720, with an identical scene in iron-red and gold please see the website of Aronson Delftware Antiquairs since 1881:
Condition: A firing flaw to base and three tiny fleabites to the rim.
References:
Price: Sold.
Red & Gold / Rouge-de-Fer 1690-1730 - Tea, Coffee and Chocolate wares
Object 2012415
Teacup & saucer
China
1710-1730
Height of teacup 44 mm (1.26 inch), diameter of rim 60 mm (2.56 inch), diameter of footring 20 mm (1.10 inch), weight 30 grams (1.06 ounce (oz.))
Height of saucer 24 mm (0.83 inch), diameter of rim 115 mm (4.41 inch), diameter of footring 62 mm (2.16 inch), weight 61 grams (2.15 ounce (oz.))
Teacup and saucer on footrings, straight rims. Decorated in 'Red & Gold' / 'Rouge-de-fer' with a light (pink-wash), iron-red and gold on the glaze with a central flower spray surrounded by wide spread chrysanthemum and prunus flower sprays. The reverse is undecorated. The teacup is decorated en suite with a single flowers spray on the inner wall.
There is a similar saucer in the collection of the Ottoman Sultans in Istanbul. (Suebsman 2019, p.83, cat. 32)
For an identically, shaped. sized and decorated teacup and saucer, please see:
Condition:
Saucer: Perfect.
Teacup: A firing flaw on the inside and a tiny flebite to the outer rim.
Reference:
Price: Sold.
Batavia Brown (Capucin wares) 1700-1800 - Tea, Coffee and Chocolate wares
Object 2010983
Teacup and saucer
China
1730-1750
Height of teacup 37 mm (1.57 inch), diameter of rim 65 mm (2.72 inch), diameter of footring 26 mm (2.54 inch), weight 41 grams (1.44 ounce (oz.))
Height of saucer 22 mm (0.94 inch), diameter of rim 107 mm (4.53 inch), diameter of footring 60 mm (2.52 inch), weight 79 grams (2.79 ounce (oz.))
Teacup and saucer on footrings, slightly everted rims. Batavia Brown covered with underglaze dark brown, iron-red, gold and various overglaze enamels with a two birds near a fence in a garden landscape. The teacup is decorated en suite.
Condition teacup: Perfect.
Condition saucer: And tension glaze hairlines, only visible on one side, caused by the firing process and three small and shallow fleabites the reverse rim.
Price: Sold.
Batavia Brown (Capucin wares) 1700-1800 - Tea, Coffee and Chocolate wares
Object 2011786
Teacup and saucer
China
1730-1750
Height of teacup 40 mm (1.57 inch), diameter of rim 69 mm (2.72 inch), diameter of footring 35 mm (2.54 inch), weight 48 grams (1.69 ounce (oz.))
Height of saucer 24 mm (0.94 inch), diameter of rim 115 mm (4.53 inch), diameter of footring 64 mm (2.52 inch), weight 86 grams (3.03 ounce (oz.))
Moulded teacup and saucer on footrings, slightly everted rims. Batavia Brown covered with underglaze dark brown and underglaze-blue with a squirrel looking up at branches of vine. The teacup is decorated en suite.
In traditional Chinese and Japanese cultures, images of squirrels and grapes together formed a rebus signifying a wish to have many sons. Squirrelsand grape images appear in Chinese painting as early as the thirteenth century an in Chinese porcelain as early as the sixteenth century. Japanese decorators began using the design on Kakiemon-style porcelains in the seventeenth century, and it spread to Europe in the eighteenth century. The design was first copied in Europe at the Meissen factory and was imitated later by many other factories in France and England, Because the Europeans did not know the origin of the design, they sometimes mistook the squirrelfor a rat and called it the 'rat and grape' design. (Impey, Jörg & Mason 2009, p.146, Fig, 102)
The depiction of vines with squirrels was a very popular, repeated pattern on a range of craftwork since the Ming Dynasty, but especially on porcelain, stoneware and snuff bottles. The squirrel, which can bear offspring more than once a year, symbolizes fertility, as does the vine with abundant grapes, and both motifs were used primarily as auspicious symbols intended to bring to the recipient a great number of sons and grandsons. Symbolism of this kind was developed as early as in the Tang Dynasty and later also reached Japan, where similar patterns always represented a tradition adopted from continental Asia, The pattern appeared quite frequently on Chinese porcelain as is demonstrated by several examples in a range of collections worldwide. (Suchomel 2015, p.228, cat.109)
For other objects decorated with the 'squirrel and grape' pattern, please see:
- Dragons, Tigers and Bamboo: Japanese Porcelain and its impact in Europe - The Mac-Donald Collection, (O.Impey, C.J.A. Jörg and C. Mason, Douglas & McIntyre Publishers Inc., Vancouver/Toronto/Berkeley 2009), p.146, Fig. 102.
- 300 Treasures, (F. Suchomel, Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, Prague, 2015), p.228, cat. 109.
-
Sold Ceramics - Sold Blue and White Kangxi Period 1662-1722 - Other Vases - Page 1 - Object 2010265.
Condition teacup: Perfect.
Condition saucer: Three small and shallow rough spots to the footring.
References:
Impey, Jörg & Mason 2009, Fig, 102
Price: Sold.
Japanese Tea, Coffee and Chocolate wares 18th Century
Object 2011448
Saucer
Japan
1700-1720
Height of saucer 25 mm (0.98 inch), diameter of rim 139 mm (5.47 inch), diameter of footring 67 mm (2.64 inch), weight 133 grams (4.69 ounce (oz.))
Saucer on footring, spreading sides. Imari decorated in, iron-red, gold and black enamel with a central flower spray surrounded by three wide spread flower sprays on a 'kiku' leaves ground. The reverse is undecorated.
This saucer was once part of a chocolate set comprising of a saucer, a beaker and cover.
For an identically shaped, sized and decorated saucer and beaker, please see:
Condition: A frit and a chip to the rim.
Reference:
Price: Sold.
Batavia Brown (Capucin wares) 1700-1800
Object 2011567
Teacup and saucer
China
1730-1745
Height of teacup 49 mm (1.92 inch), diameter of rim 80 mm (3.15 inch), diameter of footring 38 mm (1.49 inch), weight 60 grams (2.12 ounce (oz.))
Height of saucer 24 mm (0.94 inch), diameter of rim 127 mm (5.00 inch), diameter of footring 67 mm (2.63 inch), weight 102 grams (3.60 ounce (oz.))
Teacup and saucer on footrings. Batavia Brown covered with underglaze light brown. Decorated in 'Red & Gold' / 'Rouge-de-fer' with iron-red and gold (only visible in ghost from) on the glaze. On the centre of the saucer a decoration of a single flower head surrounded by two leaf-shaped and two rectangular-shaped cartouches filled with flowering plants and half flower heads with leafy branches. The reverse is covered with underglaze light brown. The teacup is decorated en suite.
This type in dark brown is traditionally called 'Batavia brown' or 'Capucijnergoed' ('Chicl-pea ware'. after the legume) in the Netherlands, 'capucin' or 'feuilles mortes' in French, or simply "brown glazed" in England and the United States. The brown colour is achieved by using iron oxide as a pigment, which like underglaze blue, needs to be fired at high temperatures. Considerable quantities were exported to the Western and inter-Asian markets from c.1700. The pieces are rarely refined and can be considered as articles for everyday use by the middle-classes. (Jörg & Van Campen 1997, pp.136-137), (Jörg 2002/2, p.120)
Condition teacup: Perfect, the decoration in gold has rubbed off completely but is still visible in 'ghost' from.
Condition saucer: A firing flaw in the centre and the decoration in gold has rubbed off completely but is still visible in 'ghost' from.
References:
Jörg & Van Campen 1997, cat. 143
Price: Sold.
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