May 2013
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April 2013
Today 12 May 2013, Object 2011326 was sold for € 499 to an Honourable Australian Gentleman.
As stated the sale proceeds of this object will be donated to the Anne Frank Stichting (Anne Frank Foundation). The Anne Frank House welcomes around a million visitors every year, and thousands of children all over the world learn about the Second World War, the Holocaust and the story of Anne Frank through teaching materials or travelling exhibition. (source: www.annefrank.org)
Object 2011326
Cream dish
Provenance: China
Dating: Qianlong period (1662-1722),
Cream dish on footring with a glazed base and a flattened rim. Decorated in various overglaze, famille rose, enamels. The rim in underglaze brown.
Decorated in the centre in a single concentric band with a flowering chrysanthemum plant On the rim a trellis pattern border with cartouches filled with flowering lotus plants. On the exterior rim, three mushrooms (lingzhi) in iron-red.
To the base an old paper label that reads:
Stichting (Foundation)
Geldersche Kasteelen (Geldersche Castles)
Coll. Mw. Scheltema-Schönfeld (Collection Mrs. Scheltema-Schönfeld)
schenking 1989 (donation 1989)
lijst nr. (list no.)
inv. nr GK II-4 (inventory no. GK II-4)
Apparently this cream dish was donated by Mrs. Scheltema-Schönfeld in 1989 to the Foundation Geldersche Kasteelen.
Mrs. Dr. H.J.H. Scheltema-Schönfeld, born September 11, 1891, was a dentist during the Second World War in the Dutch city Leiden. On May 10, 1940, Mrs. Scheltema provided shelter for a Jewish family, soon others followed. In total she gave shelter to 21 people at the same time. From her house all kinds of illegal activity (print / transmitting) was taken place against the occupying forces of nazi Germany. She herself took part in various illegal activities like transferring children from inner city Amsterdam to the countryside. She also visited the Dutch transfer concentration camp Westerbork with a suitcase filled with goods and letters. For these activities Mrs. Scheltema was arrested in May 1944. From February 15 to May 7, 1945 she was detained in Scheveningen prison also referred to as the "Oranje Hotel" (Orange Hotel) a German prison for Dutchmen who, in any way against the Germans opposing, were imprisoned for questioning and trail. For most prisoners the stay was not long lasting and followed by either release or further detention, often in Germany, or execution on the Waalsdorpervlakte. The liberation of Europe was begun but it took almost a year before the residents / prisoners of the "Oranje Hotel" (Orange Hotel) were released. On May 8, 1945, the first prisoners, under who, Mrs. Scheltema came out. Mrs. H.J.H. Scheltema-Schönfeld died in 1991. (source: www.rjhbrink.eu)
D.S. Howard states in his "The Choice of the Private Trader. The Private Market in Chinese Export Porcelain illustrated from the Hodroff Collection" that Jacquemart & Le Blant writing in French in 1861 christened the opaque enamels "famille rose" or "the rose family". These colours had been introduced to China on enamelled ware about 1710 by Jesuit enamellers who had experience at Limoges. Until that time underglaze blue., Imari and "famille verte" (Jacquemart & Le Blant so christened the translucent enamels) were almost the only palettes of export porcelain known in Europe.
C.J.A. Jörg, in co-operation with A. Borstlap, J. van Campen and T.M. Eliëns, states in his “Oriental Porcelain in the Netherlands. Four Museum Collections" that the term "famille rose" was first coined by the 19th-century French author Albert Jacquemart, who distinguished between specific groups in his descriptions of Oriental ceramics.
Dimensions:
Height: 29 mm (1.14 inch)
Diameter: 162 mm (6.38 inch)
Diameter of footring: 89 mm (3.50 inch)
Condition: Perfect.
References:
Jacquemart & Le Blant 1862, pp. 77-105.
Today 12 May 2013, Object 2011326 was sold for € 499 to an Honourable Australian Gentleman.
As stated the sale proceeds of this object will be donated to the Anne Frank Stichting (Anne Frank Foundation). The Anne Frank House welcomes around a million visitors every year, and thousands of children all over the world learn about the Second World War, the Holocaust and the story of Anne Frank through teaching materials or travelling exhibition. (source: www.annefrank.org)
January 2013
Recently I have decided to donate
object 2011087 to the collection
Oriental ceramics of the Groninger
Museum.
Object 2011087
Teacup and saucer
Provenance: China
Dating: Qianlong period (1736-1795), c.1765
Teacup and saucer on footrings with slightly everted rims and glazed bases. Decorated in various overglaze enamels, iron-red, black and gold
The saucer is decorated with a coat of arms. The coat of arms show: on a gold background a red arched bend; the crest a gold coronet with above an eagle's claw upside down. The mantling comprises scrolling leaves in red and grisaille. These are the arms of "Van der Burch" from Delft and other major Dutch cities. The "Van der Burch" family is a very ancient one with its genealogy reaching back to the mid-14th century. The coat of arms is surrounded by four large and four small flower spays in European style. Around the inner rim a chain pattern border. The reverse is undecorated. On the exterior wall of the teacup a similar decoration of a coat of arms, the coat of arms show: on a gold background a red arched bend; the crest a gold coronet with above an eagle's claw upside down. The mantling comprises scrolling leaves in red and grisaille. These are the arms of "Van der Burch" from Delft and other major Dutch cities, alternating with a single large flower spray surrounded by four smaller flower sprays, all in European style. Round the inner rim a chain pattern border.
J. Kroes states in his "Chinese Armorial Porcelain for the Dutch market" that this teacup and saucer were part of a tea service that can be dated to the mid-1760s. At least seven people could have commissioned it, however the most likely is Frans Jansz. van der Burch (1718-1775). He was the city councillor of Delft from 1748 and he became director of the Dutch East India Company, (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC) in 1765. This event in particular might have induced him to order both a dinner and tea service with his family arms.
In his book Kroes mentions that of this dinner service only an oval dinner platter is known and from the tea service only a tea caddy without cover was known both objects are displayed in his book..
Recently I discovered and was happy to acquire seven teacups, two saucers, a bowl and a patty pan from this same tea service.
There is a metal tobacco box in collection of the Groninger Museum made in Japan in the mid-18th century, with the same coat of arms of the Van der Burch family and an inscription: "FRANC(O) REYERSZ VANDER BURCH". In literature the word Franc(o) has been wrongly interpreted as "Sibrant". (see the last picture in the objects description)
Dimensions:
Saucer
Height: 28 mm (1.10 inch)
Diameter: 135 mm (5.31 inch)
Diameter of footring: 82 mm (3.23 inch)
Teacup
Height: 44 mm (1.73 inch)
Diameter: 75 mm (2.95 inch)
Diameter of footring: 35 mm (1.78 inch)
Condition: Both teacup and saucer professionally restored.
References:
Kroes 2007, p.263, cat.no.281a & cat.281b, & p.453, cat.no.376.
Donated to the collection Oriental ceramics of the Groninger Museum, Groningen, The Netherlands.
December 2012
Recently I have decided to donate
object 2011095 to the collection
Oriental ceramics of the Groninger
Museum.
Object 2011095
Teacup
Provenance: Japan
Dating: Mid 19th century
A rare teacup on a wide, flat footring with a slightly flaring rim and an unglazed base. Decorated in underglaze blue.
One side of the exterior of the teacup shows a moonlit riverscape with a constellation of stars (indicating that this scene was taking place at night). with the poet, Su Shi (Su Dongpo,1037-1101), and his companions in a boat which approaches the shore of the "Red Cliff" to the left. On the other side an abbreviated version is written in the calligraphic style of the standard script, Chinese "kaishu" (Chinese script is read from right to left in vertical columns) of "The Red Cliff Ode", (chi bi fu), two Chinese prose poems written by Su Shi (Su Dongpo,1037-1101). The first "The Red Cliff Ode" was written in the summer of 1082.
E. Ströber states in her “La maladie de porcelaine..., East Asian Porcelain from the Collection of August the Strong” that the poems were written when the poet was in exile in Huangzhou in the modern province of Hubei. It tells the story of a boating trip of Su Shi with guests over the Yangzhi-river in 1082. The men are at leisure, drinking wine, playing the flute while the boat is drifting beneath the red cliffs on the water. They engage in a philosophical discussion about the shortness of life and the changing and changeless aspects of things. The second poem is the description of another journey to the "Red Cliff" which the poet undertook a couple of months later. The theme of the poem of the "Red Cliff" as a decorative motif for porcelain appears on numerous objects of the 17th century and was particularly popular with Chinese scholars.
Bowls with this scene also appear on two still-life paintings dated 1627 and 1638 by the French artist Jacques Linard.(source: aziatischekeramiek.nl)
M. Fitski states in his "De Haas en de Maan. Arita-porselein in Japan, 1620-1820" that in 18th-century Japan a strong movement was devoted to Chinese culture. This had originated in the mid 17-th century when, after the fall of the Ming-dynasty in 1644, various intellectuals and monks fled from southern China to Japan. The influence of their intellectual legacy created a renewed interest for Chinese culture, Confucius studies, poetry and painting. It also led to a renewed popularity of the image of the scholar as a hermit or as an unadapted person. Especially for officials, often unsatisfied by the way Japanese governmental control was being executed, the scholar who, in solitude, could devote himself to calligraphy, poetry or art was an idealistic image. The movement also had an influence on the decoration of porcelain. On a Japanese dish (see Fitski p. 47) we see a similar depiction of the Red Cliff journey. The appreciation of Chinese motifs continued until the Meiji period; this teacup is a mid 19-century interpretation of this scene.
Chinese bowls from the Transitional and Kangxi periods with a similar decoration are not rare; some examples, admittedly of poor quality, were salvaged from The Hatcher Junk, c.1643, see:
For a Ming bowl with similar decoration see:
For a Zhangzhou (Swatow) bowl with similar decoration see:
For a special bowl from the Kangxi period decorated with the first and second prose poems (Chinese fu) of The Red Cliff Ode (chi bi fu) see:
For a brush holder from the Kangxi period decorated with overglaze gold on a powder-blue ground with the first and second prose poems (Chinese fu) of The Red Cliff Ode (chi bi fu) see:
Dimensions:
Height: 40 mm (1.57 inch)
Diameter: 71 mm (2.80 inch)
Diameter of footring: 37 mm (1.46 inch)
Condition: A chip, two frits, a fleabite and an unglazed spot to the rim.
References:
Boulay 1984, pp.194-195, cat. 9.
Jörg & Van Campen 1997, p.51, cat. 33.
Adhyatman 1999, p.100, cat. 108 & 108b.
Ströber 2001, pp.104-105, cat. 44.
Fitski 2002, pp,46-47, cat. 47.
Donated to the collection Oriental ceramics of the Groninger Museum, Groningen, The Netherlands.
October 2012
Recently I have added a very special Chinese salt 2010C175 to my Blue and white Kangxi Period wares 1662-1722.
Object 2010C175
Salt
Provenance: China
Dating: Kangxi period (1662-1722),
c.1700
Salt, the high, doomed open body on three small ball feet. The neck widening into a broad rim tapering to the slightly concave top. Decorated in underglaze blue.
The lower part with moulded panels shaped as lotus petals in low relief, filled with flowering peony branches. On the neck and shoulder a zig-zag lines border and a flowering peony plant growing from rockwork on top.
C.J.A. Jörg shows in: Fine & Curious: Japanese Export Porcelain in Dutch Collections, (C.J.A. Jörg, Hotei Publishing, Amsterdam, 2003),p. 164, object 187, a pair of Japanese, Imari decorated salts. These salts are a close copy of an underglaze blue Chinese salt of the same shape, similarly moulded with lotus-leaf panels and dating to c.1700. Such Chinese Kangxi salts were based, in turn on Dutch ceramic models. Because of the decoration, which does not occur on Dutch salts, it can be stated that the Japanese piece was not copied directly from a Dutch model but from a Chinese example and consequently dates to c.1700.
So its shape was copied from a Dutch ceramic original. In turn it was used as a model after which Japanese salts were made. The copied Japanese versions can be seen in: Fine & Curious: Japanese Export Porcelain in Dutch Collections, (C.J.A. Jörg, Hotei Publishing, Amsterdam, 2003), p.164, object 187, Jörg even shows a Chinese example after which the Japanese salts were made. What makes this specific Chinese salt special is the fact that it, in shape and decoration, is even closer to the Japanese salts mentioned than the Chinese example Jörg uses.
The material and the Chinese style decoration made this salt an exotic object that was prominently placed on a richly laid table. At this time salts were ordered separately, and only much later as part of a dinner service. With many Christian connotations, salt was an important seasoning at dinner before the 19th century and salts were larger and more elaborate than they are today.
(sources: The Choice of the Private Trader. The Private Market in Chinese Export Porcelain illustrated from the Hodroff Collection. (D.S. Howard, London, 1994) & Famille Verte, Chinese Porcelain in Green Enamels, (C.J.A. Jörg, Schoten, 2011))
Dimensions:
Height: 64 mm (2.24 inch)
Diameter mouthrim: 32 mm (2.52 inch)
Diameter footrim: 65 mm (3.07 inch)
Condition: Restored and with a frit to the foot and glaze fritting to the lower rim of the concave top.
References:
Price: € 499 - $ 644 - £ 400
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
August 2012
I am very proud to announce that just recently I have added a third world renowned Museum to my client list.
After the: Groninger Museum and the Reeves Collection, Washington and Lee University, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, has found its way to my website and ordered a beautiful Chinese teacup and saucer with Amsterdans Bont decoration.
May 2012
In the already existing sections Books & catalogues 1 & 2 you'll find books and catalogues on Chinese and Japanese export porcelain for sale.
I have added a new section named "Advised books & catalogues". In this new section I describe books and catalogues that in my opinion might be interesting for collectors and enthusiasts of Chinese and Japanese export porcelain. Books and catalogues in the new section "Advised books & catalogues" are not for sale and only meant to inform.
April 2012
In have added a very special children's book, PGOA object 2010C47ABCDE to my "Book & Catalogues 2", It's title is: A Bowlful of Happiness, and is written by Harriet Impey and Katie Pickwoad.
This children's book captures children's imagination with lively characters taken from real Chinese pocelain pieces. It introduces children to the beauty of Chinese art and the symbolic meanings behind it, as well as bridging cultural divides with a charming and original story. Most of us struggle how to pass through our interest and admiration for Chinese Ceramics to our children or grandchildren.
This book is an absolute must for everyone trying to pass though that interest to a generation soon to become the new caretakers off the pieces we collected with passion and love during our lifetime.
March 2012
Recently I have decided to donate
object 2010609 to the collection
Oriental ceramics of the Groninger
Museum.
Object 2010609
Teacup
Provenance: Japan
Dating: Early 18th century
A unique and very rare teacup on a footring with a straight rim and a glazed base. Imari decorated in various translucent enamel colours and iron-red, gold and black.
On the exterior wall a riverscape with mountains, houses, flags and pine trees. Two fishermen in a boat on a river. Two farmers walking with a leashed water buffalo near rocks and trees with flying birds. On a rocky river bank two figures are having a pick nick, besides them on the ground stands a teacup on a footring, a rectangular box with chop sticks and a clearly recognisable bottle with the initials FW. Round the interior rim a border with zig-zag lines and on the bottom in a single circle flowering stems.
A saucer with an identical decoration is described in: Fine & Curious, Japanese Export Porcelain in Dutch Collections, (C.J.A. Jörg, Hotei Publishing, Amsterdam, 2003), Figure 276a, page 221. On this Imari decorated saucer we see the same scene with the same two fisherman having a pick nick on a rocky river-bank with besides them on the ground a teacup on a footring, a rectangular box with chop sticks and a clearly recognisable bottle with the initials FW.
C.J.A. Jörg states in: Fine & Curious, Japanese Export Porcelain in Dutch Collections, (C.J.A. Jörg, Hotei Publishing, Amsterdam, 2003), that the initials FW could very well indicate the owner or the contents, for example Franse Wijn (French wine). In this context it is interesting to note that parts of an export teaset are known that have an Imari decoration of a scene of two Japanese pick nicking on a rocky riverbank under a tree. The bottle wit the initials FW is clearly recognisable. European objects were greatly desired in Japan and such inscribed bottles, regarded as exotic Western objects, may not only have been made for Dutch clients, but also for the domestic market. It is tempting to imagine that they were used for sake instead of wine.
C.J.A. Jörg states in: ANTIEK, XXIII-7, "Een Japanse fles met de initialen FW", (C.J.A. Jörg, February, 1989), that a saucer with a similar decoration is known in the Musée Ariana in Geneva. On Japanese porcelain it is already very rare to see an image of a identifiable type of export porcelain, but the image of such a specific object (the bottle with FW initials) is unique. The scene is traditional and does not refer to the Dutch, Decima or the the Dutch East India Company (V.O.C.). The two pick nicking figures are Japanese dressed, so it could be obvious that they drink sake (rice wine), so the bottle is in use as a sake bottle. It could very well be that this scene gives a representation of the habits in use in Japan at that time. Upper class people in Japan have always been interested in exotic ceramics and it can be read in V.O.C. documents that Delfts Faience and German stone good were given as presents to high officials in Nagasaki and Edo. In that interest fits the use of a Western object like the bottle. Remains the question, are the initials a coincidence or were they ordered? Did the porcelain painter have a FW bottle as an example which he copied as an exotic object or was there a tea service ordered by a Dutchman, for example for the person who also ordered the original FW bottles? This seems not to be very likely because the "Commande" element is so low prominent something not very likely to fit in that time. It is however so that bottles like this where used by Japanese and Europeans to contain alcoholic beverages.
Dimensions:
Height: 47 mm (1.85 inch)
Diameter: 77 mm (3.03 inch)
Diameter of footring: 35 mm (1.38 inch)
Condition: A short 20 mm (0.79 inch) hairline to the rim.
References:
Jörg 2003/1, p.221, cat. 276a.
The Groninger Museum already had a saucer with an identical decoration in their collection but the teacup was missing. I thought this was a wonderful chance to once again complete this unique and very rare set.
Donated to the collection Oriental ceramics of the Groninger Museum, Groningen, The Netherlands.
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