Recent Acquisitions

On this page you'll find my latest acquisitions.

This way you can quickly browse through my recently acquired objects without having to browse through all the various categories.

After some time, each object in 'Recent Acquisitions' will be moved to their specific category.

Latest update: Recent Acquisitions; August 22, 2026.

2012716

Japanese wares with Western Designs 1653-1800 - Frederik van Frytom 

Object 2012716

Saucer

Japan

c.1700

Height 24 mm (0.94 inch), diameter of rim 125 mm (4.92 inch), diameter of footring 60 mm, (2.36 inch), weight 111 grams (3.91 ounce (oz.))

Saucer on footring with a narrow flat rim and a slightly upturned edge. Decorated in underglaze blue with a European river scene showing a boat with three figures, another figure is standing near a tree on the river-bank. On the opposite bank a house and a church. Curling clouds in the sky. Round the rim a blue border. On the base a six-character Chenghua mark.

The decoration on this saucer imitated the Delftware model in the Prinsenhof Museum, Delft. Sherds of saucers with this design have been found at Deshima. Twickel Castle in Delden has five identically shaped, sized and decorated tea bowls and saucers. (Arita 2000, cat. 73), (Jörg 2003/1, p.246, cat, 317)

Frederik van Frijtom (c.1632-1702)

Frederik van Frijtom (c.1632-1702) was a Delft faience painter who specialised in plates, dishes and plaques with landscapes in blue. The elements that characterise his work include the wide blank rims of his plates and dishes, the detailed painting of trees and landscapes, and a specific way of drawing clouds, outlining them with small bows. His work shows idyllic, pastoral scenes with people riding horses, fishing from a boat, walking or hunting. Other Delft factories made pieces with similar scenes (and related scenes feature in the work of Dutch engravers and artists of that period), but Van Frijtom produced pieces of outstanding quality. He seemed to have made single items only, because no two pieces of the same design are known. It is possible that faience from his workshop reached Japan as a model for a private commission. In fact, some Delftware pieces that obviously served as models for Japanese porcelain copies do exist. Until the 1960s the five delftware originals of these dishes were in a Japanese collection, housed in a specially made wooden box, as tea ceremony utensils were customarily kept. They are now in the Prinsenhof Municipal Museum in Delft. These are four small irregular shaped faience dishes and one round saucer, painted in blue with typical Frijtom Scenes. They are all marked 'MB' on the back and dated 1684 in blue. very similar copies were made of four of these in Japanese porcelain. the Japanese copies usually have a spurious four - or six-character Chinese Chenghua. 

There is a problem here, however. The 'MB' initials on the delftware pieces are not related to any of Van Frijtom's marks, although they could have been the initials of the commissioner. Vecht assumes these Delft pieces were made for the Japanese tea ceremony, i.e., that a Dutchman ordered them as gifts for the Japanese. Faience was occasionally ordered in Delft for Japanese noblemen and officials, and even Delftware tea bowls in Japanese style are known. Vecht acquired the five saucers at auction in Japan. So his assumption might be true. However, if they were in Japanese possession, why would copies have been made for export? That porcelain copies were made for export is obvious. Similar pattipans and tea bowls and saucers with these designs are known from several old European collections, including Burghley House in Stamford. One saucer was even copied in the 18th century in Chinese and in English Bow porcelain. It may be that the dated Delftware pieces were first used as models and presented to the Japanese afterwards, although this is hypothetical as we have no documentation of such wares being ordered in Arita.

The popularity of this style in the 18th century brings us to the problem of dating. If the Delft saucers were made in 1684 and sent to Japan as models, the copies could have date to the late 1680s or early 1690s. However, in my opinion such a date does not correspond with the overall pictures of Japanese export porcelain at that time. The 'atmosphere' and 'feel' of the copies is different, the glaze, the rather violet blue and the painting all suggests a slightly later date.

Closely related in style, however, is the so-called Scheveningen design, of which plates, dishes and bowls are known. It shows a Dutch dune landscape with figures in foreground and a village, a beacon and sails in the background. The sky is decorated with clouds with curly outlines as on the pieces discussed above.

Dating this specific group with the Scheveningen design is easier because examples have different square marks, usually fuku (good luck) marks, but others as well. Japanese scholars have established dates for these marks, enabling us to suggest c. 1700 or the early 18th century as the period when this group was produced, although it might have lingered for a while. Due to the similarities in subject and style of painting, this makes it plausible that the first group of 'Frijtom' style pieces were also made in the same period. (New York 1986, pp.161-162), (Jörg 2003/1, p.211-212)  

It is unknown when and where Van Frijtom was born. He married Lijntge Stevens, a spinster from Pernis, in Delft in 1652. They lived in 'In den gulden Brack' in the Molslaan in Delft, and had several children. He was doing well and bought real estate in Delft several times. After his wife died he married again with Elisabeth Verschouw, under a prenuptial agreement. His works are known from 1652 to 1702. He made paintings, often landscapes, mostly on panel and sometimes on canvas. However, he specialized for the Delft pottery industry in plate decorations and tile paintings. He found original decorative possibilities without using the usual symbols. A will in 1701 showed that he was ill. After his death in 1702, twelve porters carried him to his grave in the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft. (Wikipedia)

Reproduced from: Frederik van Frytom 1632-1702. Life and work of a Delft pottery-decorator. (A. Vecht, Scheltema & Holkema N.V., Amsterdam, 1968), p.26. This autograph is not included in this sale/offer. (copyright in bibliographic data and images is held by the publisher or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved) 

The Frederik van Frijtom (c.1632-1702) style.

The Groninger Museum has two interesting, very rare early plates, each with a design clearly taken from a Delftware example, and it is tempting to connect them to the models brought over from The Netherlands in 1662. The Japanese copied not only the decoration from the Delft pieces, but also the flat base without a footring. They may represent a short-lived fashion, as it is difficult to find other examples of Dutch style decorations in the second half of the 17th century, apart from the pieces mentioned above. 

Then, unexpectedly, there was a varied output of pieces painted with Dutch landscapes, ships and harbour scenes in underglaze blue - no polychrome examples are known. Shapes include teapots. teacups and saucers, pattipans (saucers for teapots and milk jugs), plates and bowls. This type of decoration has been labelled the 'Frijtom' style.

It is a curiosity that these Japanese dishes / saucers were in turn copied in England at the Bow factory from c.1752 and there is even a Chinese version in the Ashmolean Collection. (Ayers, Impey & Mallet 1990, p.114, Impey 2002, p.228 )

For identically shaped, sized and decorated (tea bowls) and saucers, please see:

• Frederik van Frytom 1632-1702. Life and work of a Delft pottery-decorator. (A. Vecht, Scheltema & Holkema N.V., Amsterdam, 1968), p.77, cat. 44.
• The Wrestling Boys. Chinese and Japanese Ceramics from the 16th to the 18th Century in the Collection at Burghley House, (The Trustees of Burghley House, Stamford 1981), p.13, cat. 38.
• The Burghley Porcelains: An Exhibition from the Burghley House Collection and based on the 1688 Inventory and 1690 Devonshire Schedule (Japan Society Gallery, New York in collaboration with the Burghley House Preservation Trust Ldt., June 1986), pp.158-159, cat. 56.
• The Voyage of Old-Imari Porcelains, (Kyushu Ceramic Museum, Arita 2000), p.49, cat. 73.
• Fine & Curious: Japanese Export Porcelain in Dutch Collections, (C.J.A. Jörg, Hotei publishing, Amsterdam, 2003), p.246, cat. 317.

Condition: A frit to the footring.

References:

Vecht 1968, cat. 44

Stamford 1981, cat. 38

New York 1986, cat. 56 

Ayers, Impey & Mallet 1990, p.114

Arita 2000, cat. 73

Impey 2002, p.228 

Jörg 2003/1, cat. 317

Price: Sold.

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2012713

Japanese Tea, Coffee and Chocolate wares 18th Century 

Object 2012713

Saucer

Japan

1700-1720

Height 34 mm (1.34 inch), diameter of rim 139 mm (5.47 inch), diameter of footring 70 mm (2.76 inch), weight 149 grams (5.26 ounce (oz.))

Saucer on a footring with an everted rim and a glazed base. Imari decorated in underglaze blue, overglaze iron-red, green, yellow, light aubergine, black enamel and gold. In the centre a standing female figure, facing left, wearing a red kimono dress. She is standing in front of a closed zig-zag shaped garden fence, which reaches to her middle. To her right an open building with wooden roof, with a seated figure. In the foreground of this building a large cherry tree, with a curved trunk, branches and finely painted grains. The tree has red cherry blossoms. To the left of the central figure two birds flying above a fence from left to right. In the foreground some flowers growing from pierced rockwork. The rim is decorated with a dark blue border with golden scrollwork. The reverse is decorated with three stylized flowering plants. On the base a single concentric band and on the exterior footring a double.

This saucer belongs to the so-called five colour Imari group (gosai).This colour scheme consists of red, green, purple (aubergine) and/or yellow enamels with gold and underglaze blue. Soame Jenyns proposes that the lavish use of golden detailing  on the underglaze blue was perhaps meant to hide the imperfections caused by blurring in the firing, a common characteristic of Japanese porcelain. Arts states (he quotes Soame Jenyns on this) that landscapes and human figures are less commonly found on five colour Imari.

In Suchomel’s 'Masterpieces of Japanese Porcelain' an Imari bowl and lid is shown, which is decorated with a very similar blossoming cherry tree motif (sakura). The cherry blossom is regarded as the most important flower of Japan, together with the chrysanthemum. One of the names of Japan is in fact "land of the cherry blossom". The cherry blossom is emblematic of purity of life and the samurai spirit. 

Jörg states that It is often not easy to distinguish between export and non-export wares, Imari was certainly not exclusively made for export. This particular type of Imari porcelain was highly esteemed in Japan. In this case, the existence of an identical decorated saucer in a Japanese collection could signify that these saucers were originally meant for the Japanese home market.

For this identically decorated saucer, please see:

• Arita, Kutani: Nihon No Yakimono, (T. Nagatake, Tokyo 1991), cat.18

Interestingly the design was also used for overdecorating in the Netherlands, 'Amsterdams Bont' in the early 18th century, Espir shows a plain white Chinese chocolate cup and saucer overdecorated 1708-1720 with the original Japanese design in a Kakiemon style, for this chocolate cup and saucer please see:

• European Decoration on Oriental Porcelain 1700-1830, (H. Espir, Jorge Welsh Books, London, UK, 2005), p.61, cat 14.

A very similar decorated small plate, again with a blossoming cherry tree, fenced garden and identical blue rim with golden scrollwork, however without the exceptional Japanese figures, is described in Impey’s 'Japanese Export Porcelain', cat. 330. Interestingly, he mentions that the Ashmolean Museum also has a Worcester cup and saucer of that same pattern in the Marshall collection.

Condition: Three firing flaws to the base. 

References:

Jenyns 1979, p.52 & p.54

Arts 1983, p.58 & p.141

Nagatake 1991, cat.18

Suchomel 1997, cat. 232

Impey 2002, cat. 330

Jörg 2003/1, p.91

Espir 2005, cat 14

Price: Sold.

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2012715

Japanese Tea, Coffee and Chocolate wares 18th Century

Object 2012715

Saucer

Japan

1700-1720

Height 34 mm (1.34 inch), diameter of rim 113 mm (4.45 inch), diameter of footring 59 mm or (2.32 inch), weight 90 grams (3.17 ounce (oz.))

Saucer on a wide flat unglazed footring with three small outward turned tapering feet ending in a globule, lobed sides and everted fluted rims. Imari decorated in, iron-red and gold with a flower spray in a central double outlined roundel on the sides groups of flowering plants and grasses with various crawling and flying insects and a millet and quail. The reverse is undecorated. 

Robert McPherson states on his website in the references of his sold object 23586 that, as far as he is aware of, there are no published examples of saucers with legs, either in Japanese or Chinese porcelain. 

At first it was considered that the saucer might in fact have been a leak tray for a milk jug or a small teapot and that the tea bowl together with a matching saucer, without three small feet, once belonged to the same tea service.  

Delving some more into the occurrence of ‘small feet’ in Japanese porcelain, various larger Japanese porcelain objects came to light with all kinds of differently shaped feet or legs. Recorded in literature are items such as kakiemon incense burners (koro) (Impey 2002, cat. 272;  Ayers, Impey & Mallet 1990, cat. 104; Arts 1983, cat. 35), Imari boxes with covers (Jörg 2003/1 cat. 103, 105, 106; Arita 2000, cat. 216) [, a blue and white tripod dish (Kyushu 1998, p.53, cat. 84) and even larger and rare milk bowls, probably made after European earthenware models (Jörg 2003/1, cat. 212/213; Arita 2000, cat. 123 t/m 125). 

More comparable because of its small size is an odd Ko-Imari pouring vessel with gilded handles and tripod feet in the collection of Burghley House (The Burghley Porcelains ,1986, p. 264, cat. 116)

However, even more interesting for comparison is a kakiemon saucer (diameter 124 mm (4.88 inch)) with three bracket-feet, which was surely at one time accompanied by a matching cup. When discussing this saucer Impey states that while larger pieces with bracket-feet are well known, they are very rare in this small size (Impey 2002, p. 166 cat. 255; The Burghley Porcelains, 1986, p. 258 cat. 112).

Another  kakiemon tripod saucer dish (diameter 145 mm (5.70 inch)) with outward turned feet which resemble the ones on this set very closely, can be found at McPherson Antiques, London, sold stock number 23586.

Two other designs, on this very rare three legged saucer, are known. One also only decorated in iron-red and gold the other only in polychrome enamels.

Earlier sold object 2012143 also only decorated in iron-red and gold. (not included in this sale/offer)

Earlier sold object 2012689 only decorated in polychrome enamels. (not included in this sale/offer) 

Condition: Perfect.

References:

Arts 1983, cat. 35

The Burghley House Porcelains 1986, cat. 112 & 116

Ayers, Impey & Mallet 1990 , cat.104

Kyushu 1998, p.53, cat. 84

Arita 2000, cat.123 t/m 125, cat. 216

Impey 2002, cat. 255 & 272

Jörg 2003/1, cat. 103, 105/106, 212/213

McPherson Antiques, London, sold stock number 23586 

Price: Sold.

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2012717

Japanese wares with Western Designs 1653-1800 - Frederik van Frytom 

Object 2012717

Tea bowl

Japan

c.1700

Height 42 mm (1.65 inch), diameter of rim 75 mm (2.95 inch), diameter of footring 33 mm, (1.30 inch),

weight 50 grams (1.76 ounce (oz.))

Tea bowl on footring, spreading sides, everted rim. Decorated in underglaze blue with a European dune landscape showing a horseman and two travellers on foot crossing a heath. Round the rim a wavy blue border that is repeated on the inside. In the centre a house with a pine tree. On the base a four-character Chenghua mark.

Frederik van Frijtom (c.1632-1702)

Frederik van Frijtom (c.1632-1702) was a Delft faience painter who specialised in plates, dishes and plaques with landscapes in blue. The elements that characterise his work include the wide blank rims of his plates and dishes, the detailed painting of trees and landscapes, and a specific way of drawing clouds, outlining them with small bows. His work shows idyllic, pastoral scenes with people riding horses, fishing from a boat, walking or hunting. Other Delft factories made pieces with similar scenes (and related scenes feature in the work of Dutch engravers and artists of that period), but Van Frijtom produced pieces of outstanding quality. He seemed to have made single items only, because no two pieces of the same design are known. It is possible that faience from his workshop reached Japan as a model for a private commission. In fact, some Delftware pieces that obviously served as models for Japanese porcelain copies do exist. Until the 1960s the five delftware originals of these dishes were in a Japanese collection, housed in a specially made wooden box, as tea ceremony utensils were customarily kept. They are now in the Prinsenhof Municipal Museum in Delft. These are four small irregular shaped faience dishes and one round saucer, painted in blue with typical Frijtom Scenes. They are all marked 'MB' on the back and dated 1684 in blue. very similar copies were made of four of these in Japanese porcelain. the Japanese copies usually have a spurious four - or six-character Chinese Chenghua. 

There is a problem here, however. The 'MB' initials on the delftware pieces are not related to any of Van Frijtom's marks, although they could have been the initials of the commissioner. Vecht assumes these Delft pieces were made for the Japanese tea ceremony, i.e., that a Dutchman ordered them as gifts for the Japanese. Faience was occasionally ordered in Delft for Japanese noblemen and officials, and even Delftware tea bowls in Japanese style are known. Vecht acquired the five saucers at auction in Japan. So his assumption might be true. However, if they were in Japanese possession, why would copies have been made for export? That porcelain copies were made for export is obvious. Similar pattipans and tea bowls and saucers with these designs are known from several old European collections, including Burghley House in Stamford. One saucer was even copied in the 18th century in Chinese and in English Bow porcelain. It may be that the dated Delftware pieces were first used as models and presented to the Japanese afterwards, although this is hypothetical as we have no documentation of such wares being ordered in Arita.

The popularity of this style in the 18th century brings us to the problem of dating. If the Delft saucers were made in 1684 and sent to Japan as models, the copies could have date to the late 1680s or early 1690s. However, in my opinion such a date does not correspond with the overall pictures of Japanese export porcelain at that time. The 'atmosphere' and 'feel' of the copies is different, the glaze, the rather violet blue and the painting all suggests a slightly later date.

Closely related in style, however, is the so-called Scheveningen design, of which plates, dishes and bowls are known. It shows a Dutch dune landscape with figures in foreground and a village, a beacon and sails in the background. The sky is decorated with clouds with curly outlines as on the pieces discussed above.

Dating this specific group with the Scheveningen design is easier because examples have different square marks, usually fuku (good luck) marks, but others as well. Japanese scholars have established dates for these marks, enabling us to suggest c. 1700 or the early 18th century as the period when this group was produced, although it might have lingered for a while. Due to the similarities in subject and style of painting, this makes it plausible that the first group of 'Frijtom' style pieces were also made in the same period. (New York 1986, pp.161-162), (Jörg 2003/1, p.211-212)  

It is unknown when and where Van Frijtom was born. He married Lijntge Stevens, a spinster from Pernis, in Delft in 1652. They lived in 'In den gulden Brack' in the Molslaan in Delft, and had several children. He was doing well and bought real estate in Delft several times. After his wife died he married again with Elisabeth Verschouw, under a prenuptial agreement. His works are known from 1652 to 1702. He made paintings, often landscapes, mostly on panel and sometimes on canvas. However, he specialized for the Delft pottery industry in plate decorations and tile paintings. He found original decorative possibilities without using the usual symbols. A will in 1701 showed that he was ill. After his death in 1702, twelve porters carried him to his grave in the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft. (Wikipedia)

Reproduced from: Frederik van Frytom 1632-1702. Life and work of a Delft pottery-decorator. (A. Vecht, Scheltema & Holkema N.V., Amsterdam, 1968), p.26. This autograph is not included in this sale/offer. (copyright in bibliographic data and images is held by the publisher or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved) 

The Frederik van Frijtom (c.1632-1702) style.

The Groninger Museum has two interesting, very rare early plates, each with a design clearly taken from a Delftware example, and it is tempting to connect them to the models brought over from The Netherlands in 1662. The Japanese copied not only the decoration from the Delft pieces, but also the flat base without a footring. They may represent a short-lived fashion, as it is difficult to find other examples of Dutch style decorations in the second half of the 17th century, apart from the pieces mentioned above. 

Then, unexpectedly, there was a varied output of pieces painted with Dutch landscapes, ships and harbour scenes in underglaze blue - no polychrome examples are known. Shapes include teapots. teacups and saucers, pattipans (saucers for teapots and milk jugs), plates and bowls. This type of decoration has been labelled the 'Frijtom' style.

It is a curiosity that these Japanese dishes / saucers were in turn copied in England at the Bow factory from c.1752 and there is even a Chinese version in the Ashmolean Collection. (Ayers, Impey & Mallet 1990, p.114, Impey 2002, p.228 )

For identically shaped, sized and decorated tea bowls, please see:

• Frederik van Frytom 1632-1702. Life and work of a Delft pottery-decorator. (A. Vecht, Scheltema & Holkema N.V., Amsterdam, 1968), p.77, cat. 44.
• The Wrestling Boys. Chinese and Japanese Ceramics from the 16th to the 18th Century in the Collection at Burghley House, (The Trustees of Burghley House, Stamford 1981), p.15, cat. 42.
• The Burghley Porcelains: An Exhibition from the Burghley House Collection and based on the 1688 Inventory and 1690 Devonshire Schedule (Japan Society Gallery, New York in collaboration with the Burghley House Preservation Trust Ldt., June 1986), pp.158-159, cat. 54. 
• The Voyage of Old-Imari Porcelains, (Kyushu Ceramic Museum, Arita 2000), p.48, cat. 70.

Condition: A frit to the footring.

References:

Vecht 1968, p.26

Stamford 1981, cat. 42

New York 1986, cat. 54 

Ayers, Impey & Mallet 1990, p.114

Arita 2000, cat. 70

Impey 2002, p.228 

Jörg 2003/1, p.211

Price: Sold.

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2012733a

Japanese Blue and White wares 17th Century

Object 2012733a

A small covered jar

Japan

1670-1690

Height with cover 65 mm (2.56 inch), height without cover 43 mm (1.69 inch), diameter of rim 62 mm (2.44 inch), diameter of footring 29 mm (1.14 inch), weight with cover 96 grams (3.39 ounce (oz.)), weight cover 39 grams (1.38 ounce (oz.))

Cylindrical jar on footring. Domed cover with flattened knob. Decorated in underglaze blue with a large tree near zig-zag plank bridges (yatsuhashi) alternating with a tree growing from rockwork. The cover, with a contemporary steel mount, is decorated en suite. 

In Arita this type of covered jar was obviously made for export and adapted to meet Dutch demands. Therefore this type of covered jar can be categorized as a Western shape. They are were made in more or less fixed sizes. This small size seems to be rare as no other similar sized example seems to be recorded in lliterature.

Condition:

Jar: Perfect.

Cover: A chip to the inner rim and a restoration to the rim.

Price: Sold.

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2012719

Japanese Blue and White wares 18th Century

Object 2012719

Dish

Japan

1750-1760

Height 38 mm (1.50 inch), diameter of rim 273 mm (10.75 inch), diameter of footring 141 mm (5.55 inch), weight 838 grams (29.56 ounce (oz.))

Dish on footring, flat rim. On the base seven spur-marks. Decorated in underglaze blue with two ducks in flight and two near a shore in a marshy landscape with various flowering plants encircled by an eight pointed scalloped medallion. On the a diaper-pattern border and on the rim three wide spread flower sprays. The reverse is undecorated.

The design on this dish is clearly derives from a Chinese original dating from around 1750. Similarly decorated Chinese dishes were found amongst the cargo of the Dutch East India Company, (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC) vessel Geldermalsen, that struck a reef on Monday January 3, 1752 on her return journey to the Netherlands and sank in the South China Sea.

(Reproduced from; The Geldermalsen. History and Porcelain, (C.J.A. Jörg, Groningen 1986), p.74, fig. 61.)

For a similarly shaped and decorated, earlier sold, dish please see:

• Sold Ceramics - Sold Japanese Blue and White wares 18th Century - Other wares - Page 1 - Object 2012410. 

Condition: A firing flaw on the base.

Reference:

Jörg 1986/1, fig. 61

Price: Sold.

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2012731

Japanese Imari 1690-1800

Object 2012731

Bowl

Japan

c.1700

Height 117 mm (4.61 inch), diameter 265 mm (10.43 inch), diameter of footring 107 mm (4.21 inch), weight 1,157 grams (40.81 ounce (oz.))

Bowl on footring, straight sides with a slightly flaring rim and edge. A single spur-mark on the base. Imari, decorated in underglaze blue, iron red, green, turquoise, aubergine, black, yellow and gold. In the centre a flowering Camelia Japonica flower spray. On the sides two wide spread flower sprays. Round the rim a geometrical pattern border in underglaze blue with four reserves filled with a flower spray in reverse decoration on an iron-red ground. The outside with three outlined reserves filled with flowering chrysanthemum plants growing from behind bounded hedges. In between the panels flowering peony plants and wide spread flowering cherry trees. Round the foot a circular geometrical pattern border in underglaze blue and on the foot a continuous floral scroll in iron-red. On the base a large Artemisia leaf in underglaze blue outlined in gold. 

With sets of under dish, bowl and cover, the decoration of the trunks continue on the matching cover and under dish. These covers and under dishes are now mostly missing. It is rare to see complete sets. Here you can see an example of a complete set with matching decoration on the cover and under dish. This example was found in England and is in an English private collection.

Condition: A firing flaw to the inner wall and some loss of enamel.

Price: Sold.

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2012722

Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Western Designers - Pronk, Cornelis (1691-1759)

Object 2012722

Dish

China

c.1750

Height 44 mm (1.73 inch), diameter of rim 279 mm (10.98 inch), diameter of footring 166 mm (6.54 inch), weight 672 grams (13.70 ounce (oz.))

Dish on footring, straight rim. Decorated in underglaze blue with a scene reminiscent of Pronk's 'Parasol Lady' design, with a lady standing in a garden near a waterfront gesturing at three cranes in front of her and one in flight while her attendant is holding a tasselled parasol. Various plants and trees are growing near the waterfront. the central scene is outlined by a spiralling border. On the sides flower sprays hanging down from a honeycomb diaper-pattern border. The reverse is undecorated.

Imitations of Pronk Porcelain

For the Dutch East India Company, (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC) porcelain made to order after the drawings by Cornelis Pronk proved not to be profitable enough. Private traders however, saw how well it sold, which prompted them to commission simplified versions. This was the beginning of the production of all sorts of blue and coloured versions of this ware, among others of tea ware and of plates. Quite extraordinary were the Japanese imitations of Pronk Porcelain, which featured Japanese geishas instead of the well-known Chinese parasol ladies. This variant was later in turn copied in China as well. After it arrived in the Netherlands, blue Chinese porcelain was occasionally over-decorated in enamel colours (Amsterdams Bont), whereby the Pronk motif was copied as well. English imitations were seen far into the 19th century, while this motif even appears to have still been applied on Maastricht ware of as late approximately 1900. (Source: Groninger Museum)

The design on this dish is an excellent example of an interpretation of Pronk's 'Parasol Lady' design by the Chinese porcelain painters themselves, maybe meant for the own domestic market as an exotic item, an 'Europeanerie'. In this case the waterbirds beside marsh grasses have been replaced by pheasants, while the insects on the reverse have been deleted. Furthermore, the design was also widely copied in Europe, for example by the Venetian Porcelain Factory Cozzi, the Dutch Ouder-Amstel Porcelain Factory and Delft factories. At Delft, there were plain white objects decorated with the Chinese version of the Parasol Ladies. Until the mid to late 19th century the pattern of the 'Parasol Lady' was still used on European porcelain, for example at the famous Herendt Factory in Hungary and at the Porcelain Factory of Maastricht, the Netherlands.

Condition: Restored.

Reference:

Groninger Museum

Price: Sold.

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2012726

Chinese wares over-decorated in the West 1700-1800 - Dutch over-decorated Amsterdams Bont

Object 2012726

Bowl

China

1730-1750, over-decorated in the Netherlands, Amsterdams Bont, c.1730-1760

Height 73 mm (2.87 inch), diameter of rim 151 mm (5.94 inch), diameter of footring 64 mm (2.56 inch), weight 309 grams (10.90 ounce (oz.))

Bowl on footring with a straight underglaze brown-edged rim (jia mangkou). Carved anhua (secret) decoration of leafy branches. Decorated in underglaze blue with two diaper pattern borders one near the footring the other round the rim. On the bottom a flower head in a single concentric band. Over-decorated in iron-red, black, gold and other overglaze enamels, in the Netherlands, Amsterdams Bont, c.1730-1760 with two figures in a landscape with trees and bushes. One divine figure (the Virgin Mary) is sitting under a tree her elbow resting on his leg while her hand is supporting her head. The other figure (the Angel Gabriël) is approaching while holding a stick, his scarf is being blown up by the wind.

The over-decoration on this bowl represents "The Annunciation". The moment when the Angel Gabriël announced to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive and give birth to Jesus Christ. It is described in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:26-38). According to the Christian tradition: The Angel Gabriël was sent by God to Mary in Nazareth. Gabriël greeted her with the words: 'Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee'. He told her she would bear a son named Jesus, who would be called the Son of God. Mary asked how this could happen, since she was a virgin. Gabriël explained that the conception would occur through the Holy Spirit. Mary accepted with humility: 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be into me according to ty word'.

The Annunciation is one of the central moments in Christianity because it marks the beginning of the incarnation - God becoming human in Jesus Christ. It is traditionally celebrated on March 25, exactly nine months before Christmas.

For an identically decorated dish in the collection of Museum Boymans - van Beuningen, Rotterdam, please see:

• La porcelaine des Compagnies des Indes a décor Occidental, (F. & N. Hervouët & Y. Bruneau, Flammarion - Pere Castor, Paris 1986), p.400, no.16.136.

 A A tea caddy with a similar 'The Annunciation' decoration. (Image courtesy: Paulo Cunha Alves Collection, Lisbon Portugal) 

Anhua is a Chinese term meaning 'secret or hidden decoration', it is incised or carved into the body below the glaze. (Espir 2005, p.254) 

Condition: Restored.

References:

Hervouët 1986, no. 13.1 & 13.2

Espir 2005, p.254

Price: Sold.

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2012730

Japanese Imari 1690-1800

Object 2012730

Dish

Japan

1700-1730

Height 45 mm (1.77 inch), diameter 265 mm (10.43 inch), diameter of footring 168 mm (6.61 inch), weight 882 grams (31.11 ounce (oz.))

Dish on footring, spreading sides and a lobbed rim. On the base eight spur-marks. Imari, decorated in underglaze blue, iron-red, various overglaze enamels and gold with a flower spray in a central roundel. The sides and rim are divided into four panels. Two panels are filled with rockwork, flowering Camelia japonica plants and scattered kiku flowerheads in low relief. The other two panels ae filled with a house with grasses, clouds, flowering cherry plants and scattered kiku flowerheads in low relief. On the reverse a continuous leafy and flowering cherry scroll 

This dish was most likely originally came with a matching covered bowl which is now lost.

Condition: Perfect.

Price: Sold.

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2012725

Japanese wares with Western Shapes or Designs 1653-1800

Object 2012725

Sand brick

Japan

1680-1700

Height 65 mm (2.56 inch), dimensions 135 mm (5.32 inch) x 55 mm (2.17 inch), weight 424 grams (14.96 ounce (oz.))

Sand brick of rectangular shape on a flat unglazed base. Hollow with three shallow domed top rows with small holes. Imari decorated, on the wide sides in, iron-red and yellow, aubergine, green, grey, black enamels and gold with a wide spread gnarled blossoming prunus growing from rockwork with small plants. On the smaller sides flowering bamboo plants growing from rockwork. Round the rim swirling clouds. The holes are square outlined in iron-red.

In the West, quill pens were used for writing and the ink was dried by dusting it with fine sand. A sander like this came with an matching inkstand. These type of writing sets will have been based on a European metal or earthenware model and must have been luxury items. The sand brick, which had to be filled from above, should not be confused with the later and much larger Chinese flower bricks. Apparently, such writing sets were only made in Arita and no Chinese examples are recorded. Curiously, the very few complete sets known have a particular kakiemon-style decoration. Sets must also have existed in underglaze blue and Imari, as is indicated by single examples of sand bricks and inkstands. (Jörg 2003/1, p.188)

For similarly shaped sand bricks, please see:

• Japanese Porcelain, (S. Jenyns, Faber & Faber, London / Boston, 1979), cat. 65Aii. 
• Fine & Curious: Japanese Export Porcelain in Dutch Collections, (C.J.A. Jörg, Hotei Publishing, Amsterdam 2003), pp.188-189, cat. 234 & 235.

Another similarly shaped, sized and decorated sand brick is in an English private collection.

Condition: Overall fine crazing to the glaze, a chip to a corner and a fleabite to a hole.

References:

Jenyns 1979, cat. 65Aii

Jörg 2003/1, cat. 234 & 235

Price: Sold.

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2012658

Japanese wares with Western Shapes or Designs 1653-1800

Object 2012658

Shaving bowl with matching ewer

Japan

1700-1720

Height shaving bowl 101 mm (3.97 inch), dimensions rim 345 mm (13.58 inch) x 280 mm (11.02 inch), dimensions footring 157 mm (6.18 inch) x 127 mm (5.00 inch), weight 1.754 grams (61.87 ounce (oz.))

Height ewer 183 mm (7.20 inch), diameter mouthrim 110 mm (4.33 inch), diameter footring 92 mm (3.62 inch), weight 933 grams (35.03 ounce (oz.))

Oval shaving bowl, spreading flat rim with a semicircular section saved in the lower part In the basin. A ring in low relief to fit the matching ewer. Imari, decorated in underglaze blue, iron-red and gold with a flowering peony spray in the central ring in low relief flanked by wide spread flowering peony and chrysanthemum sprays tied with a ribbon with tassels. On the rim flowering peony and chrysanthemum sprays in wavy shaped panels and flowering plants in onion shaped panels flanked by flowerheads on a golden ground. The pitcher is decorated en suite. 

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)

These forms have also been called shaving basins as well as Mambrino's helmets, a name that comes from Cervante's novel The Life and Achievements of Don Quixote de la Mancha, in which the title character uses the bowl of the barber Mambrino as a helmet. (Sargent 2012, p.189)

The ewer is a close copy of similar European metal of faience ewers produced in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. (Jörg 2011/2, p.150)  

Condition: A small chip to the underside of the edge of the semicircular section.

References:

Jörg 2003/1, p.184

Jörg 2011/2, p.150

Sargent 2012, p.189

Price: Sold.

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2012691

Chinese Imari 1700-1800 - Tea, Coffe and Chocolate wares

Object 2012691

Saucer

China

1730-1750

Height 21 mm (0.83 inch), diameter of rim 113 mm (4.45 inch), diameter of footring 57 mm (2.24 inch), weight 69 grams (2.43 ounce (oz.)) 

Saucer on footring, slightly everted rim. Chinese Imari, decorated in underglaze blue, overglaze iron-red and gold with a seated figure with a walking cane and a clearly European appearance, hair style and clothing, in the background a fence with flowering plants. 

Sotheby's Ca Mau Shipwreck, circa 1725, auction sale catalogue shows an illustration intended to provide instructions for the Chinese porcelain painters on the ways and appearance of unfamiliar foreigners. The foreigner depicted on this saucer is clearly such an unfamiliar (European) foreigner. (Amsterdam 2007, pp.213-214) 

Condition: Some glaze rough spots to the rim.

Reference:

Amsterdam 2007, pp.213-214 

Price: € 249 Currency Converter

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2011287

Japanese Tea, Coffee and Chocolate wares 18th Century

Object 2011287

Tea bowl and saucer

Japan

1700-1730

Height of tea bowl 40 mm (1.57 inch), diameter of rim 62 mm (2.44 inch), diameter of footring 25 mm (0.98 inch), weight 40 grams (1.41 ounce (oz.))

Height of saucer 22 mm (0.87 inch), diameter of rim 113 mm (4.45 inch), diameter of footring 48 mm (1.89 inch), weight 83 grams (2.93 ounce (oz.))

Tea bowl and saucer on footrings with spreading sides with slightly flaring rims. Imari decorated in underglaze blue and gold with a flowerpot filled with flowering cherry stems in a central roundel. On the sides three reserves filled with a bird in flight amongst flowering plants an leafy branches, alternating with a leafy flowering chrysanthemum stem in gold on an underglaze blue ground. The tea bowl is decorated en suite.

Condition: The footring of the tea bowl with glazed firing flaws.

Price: € 149 Currency Converter

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