Sold Ceramics
Sold Chine de commande
Western Subjects 1680-1800
Various Subjects
Page 1
In the Sold Ceramics - Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects category the sold objects are categorized in the following alphabetical order:
- Amorous
- Couples
- Hunting Scenes
- Indoor Scenes
Sold Amorous
Sold Ceramics - Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Amorous - Page 1
Object 2010701
Saucer
China
1725-1730
Height 19 mm (0.75 inch), diameter of rim 101 mm (3.97 inch), diameter of footring 58 mm (2.28 inch)
Saucer on footring, slightly everted rim. Polychrome decorated in various overglaze enamels and gold with a European couple in a landscape with mountains, clouds and pagodas watching, naughty chicken.
The subject on this saucer clearly has a hidden meaning, symbolizing sexual desire or hinting at forthcoming pleasures. The decorative function was more important than their practical usefulness, they were certainly never used when entertaining guests at a tea party. These kinds of amorous themes were immensely popular between 1720 and 1770. (Jörg 1989/2, p.190)
Condition: A restored rim.
Reference:
Price: Sold.
Sold Ceramics - Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Amorous - Page 1
Object 2010185B
Teacup and saucer
China
1730-1735
Height of teacup 35 mm (1.38 inch), diameter of rim 68 mm (2.67 inch), diameter of footring 33 mm (1.29 inch)
Height of saucer 19 mm (0.75 inch), diameter of rim 107 mm (4.21 inch), diameter of footring: 62 mm (2.44 inch)
Teacup and saucer on footrings, everted rims with six small indentations. Polychrome decorated in overglaze blue, black and green enamel and 'Red & Gold' / 'Rouge-de-fer' with a European couple seated in beside an open bird-cage within a fenced garden. The teacup is decorated en suite.
The decoration is know as the 'Liberty and Matrimony' design.
The cage with the bird was a well-known symbol of chastity and virginity in European art, and this design showing a couple and an open cage therefore had an erotic meaning. The Source of this decoration is a painting 'Le Dénicheur d’oiseaux' (The Bird Hunter), by the Frenchman Jean Baptiste Joseph Pater Howard and Ayers state that the European original is commonly known as ´The Bird Seller´ but the meaning is allegorical, and a more appropriate title might be ´The Tender Trap´. The indented rim is characteristic of a group of well-enamelled tea-wares of a thin, pure body produced during the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns. (Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. 2, p.360), (Hervouët 1986, p.90). (Jörg 1989/2, p.198), (Jörg & Van Campen 1997, p.213)
For similarly decorated objects, please see:
- China for the West. Chinese Porcelain and other Decorative Arts for Export illustrated from the Mottahedeh Collection, (D.S. Howard & J. Ayers, Philip Wilson Publishers for Sotheby Parke Bernet Publications, London 1978), vol. 2, p.360, cat. 349.
- La porcelaine des Compagnies des Indes a décor Occidental, (F. & N. Hervouët & Y. Bruneau, Flammarion - Pere Castor, Paris 1986), p.90, cat. 4.26.
- Important Chinese Export Porcelain from the Mottahedeh Collection, (Sotheby's, New York, Wednesday, January 30, 1985), lot 219.
- Chinese Export Porcelain. Chine de Commande from the Royal Museum of Art and History in Brussels, exhibition catalogue Hong Kong Museum of Art, (C.J.A. Jörg, The Urban Council, Hong Kong, 1989), pp.198-199, cat. 75.
- Important Chinese Export Porcelain and Chinese works of art from the Collection of the late Mildred R. and Rafi Y. Mottahedeh, auction sale catalogue 7520, Sotheby's New York, October 19, 2000, pp.112-113, lot 256.
Condition:
Teacup: A Y-shaped hairline
Saucer: Two hairlines to the rim.
References:
Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. 2, cat. 349
Jörg & Van Campen 1997, cat. 237
Price: Sold.
Not illustrated objects 2010185A/C/D, three other identically shaped, sized and decorated teacups and two saucers.
Sold Ceramics - Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Amorous - Page 1
Object 2010275
Teacup and saucer
China
1730-1735
Height of teacup 35 mm (1.38 inch), diameter of rim 75 mm (2.95 inch), diameter of footring 35 mm (1.38 inch)
Height of saucer 20 mm (0.79 inch), diameter of rim 115 mm (4.53 inch), diameter of footring 72 mm (2.84 inch)
Teacup and saucer on footrings, everted rims with six small indentations. Polychrome decorated in overglaze blue and black enamel and 'Red & Gold' / 'Rouge-de-fer' with an all over design of three monkeys opening a cage containing two birds, surrounded by flower sprigs. The teacup is decorated en suite.
In European iconography the monkey is a symbol of sexual desire and lust, while the cage with a bird inside alludes to chastity. This decoration therefore had an explicit erotic connotation. The source of this design which is very rare on Chine de commande, is still unknown. The indented rim is characteristic of a group of well-enamelled tea-wares of a thin, pure body produced during the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns. (Jörg 1989/2, p.196), (Jörg & Van Campen 1997, p.213)
For an identically decorated teacup and saucer, please see:
Condition:
Teacup: Two hairlines and a tiny fleabite to the rim.
Saucer: Perfect.
References:
Jörg & Van Campen 1997, cat. 237
Price: Sold.
Sold Ceramics - Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Amorous - Page 1
Object 2011743
Teacup
China
1730-1735
Height 37 mm (1.46 inch), diameter of rim 74 mm (2.91 inch), diameter of footring 35 mm (1.38 inch), weight 39 grams (1.38 ounce (oz.))
Teacup on footring, slightly everted rim. Decorated in encre de Chine with gold and blue enamel with two cartouches showing a women who appears to be breastfeeding her child. In between the cartouches blue leafy scrolls. On the bottom a peony flower spray. Around the inner rim a foliate and floral scroll border.
This intriguing scene is copied from an unknown print. The woman seems to be breastfeeding her child. If it was the mother one would expect her just to be looking lovingly at her child.... instead the lady is looking away and smiling somewhat mischievous. This could point to a hidden (erotic?) meaning of the scene.
For an Identically decorated teapot, please see:
Condition: Two frits to the rim, a Y-shaped hairline to the rim and a glaze hairline to the bottom. Some wear to the blue enamels.
Reference:
Price: Sold.
Sold Ceramics - Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Amorous - Page 1
Object 2012044
Teapot
China
1740-1760
Height with cover 130 mm (5.12 inch), height without cover 91 mm (3.58 inch), diameter handle to spout 185 mm (7.28 inch), diameter of mouthrim 58 mm (2.28 inch), diameter of footring 58 mm (2.28 inch), weight including cover 393 grams (13.86 ounce (oz.)), weight cover 78 grams (2.75 ounce (oz.))
Teapot of globular shape on footring. Straight spout with a curved C-shaped handle. Matching domed cover with pointed knob. Decorated in various overglaze enamels and gold with the 'The Valentine' or 'Alter of Love' pattern, a landscape scene with two love birds bill affectionately as they perch on Cupid's quiver while his bow lies nearby in the front an altar with two flaming hearts, the scene is flanked by a garlanded palm and pine or breadfruit tree. In the sky a bird, a butterfly and flocks of birds in flight. The cover is decorated en suite.
According to Motley this is a well known pattern found on a small range of Chinese export pieces. The origins are not clear but it seems to have been done for Lord Anson in 1743 and is based on a drawing by Sir Piercy Brett (c.1710-1781) who was Lieutenant on Anson's flagship HMS Centurion on his voyage round the world. (1740-1744) Anson made Brett captain of the Centurion while they were in Canton, 30 Sept 1743. Brett made many drawings during the voyage. The earliest version of this pattern have a breadfruit tree and a palm tree then appear in the centre of an export armorial dinner service with the arms of Anson. In this service the tree has garlands of flowers and many of the elements of this pattern are present: the flaming hearts on the altar, the dog, the shepherd's crook, the birds, the bow and arrows. Sometimes drawn back curtains are added which are very suggestive of an erotic voyeurism, resembling the drapes of a four poster bed. Such use of suggestive array was popular for an eighteenth century audience and would have been readily comprehensible to an educated eighteenth century eye. The use of pastoral imagery and symbolism as code for amorous activities was ubiquitous then. The Valentine design appears on its own in a number of English ceramic wares of the eighteenth century and it was used on Chinese export porcelain, armorial and pseudo-armorial objects as well. (Motley 2014)
Howard states that the idea for the Valentine pattern, by Piercy Brett, was certainly inspired by Anson and Piercy's stay on Tenian Island to collect breadfruit trees for the British West Indian colonies. An illustration in Anson's Voyages shows a very similar breadfruit tree and palm while other allusions are to absent loved ones. The Valentine pattern had a popularity which saw it produced in underglaze blue with hounds and puppies and with Chinese-looking shepherds in European clothes seated beneath pine trees. It was copied at Worcester and elements appear on Chinese snuffbottles and rim cartouches for a decade after the Anson's service. It became in fact part of the repertoire of Chinese workshops in Canton. (Howard 1994)
The Valentine design remained long in vogue; for in 1778 we still find it described as 'a burning altar, and two small doves on a quiver with a bow, and accessories' in the catalogue of a sale held in that year at Amsterdam of the stock of the porcelain-shop of Martha Raap. (Lunsingh Scheurleer 1974, p.158)
For identically, polychrome decorated objects, please see:
- China trade porcelain. An account of its historical background, manufacture, and decoration and a study of the Helena Woolworth McCann Collection, (J. Goldsmith Phillips, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1956). p.152, Plate 67.
- China for the West. Chinese Porcelain and other Decorative Arts for Export illustrated from the Mottahedeh Collection, (D.S. Howard & J. Ayers, Philip Wilson Publishers for Sotheby Parke Bernet Publications, London 1978), vol. 1, pp.205-206, cat. 204 & vol. 2, p.364, cat. 355.
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Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Amorous - Object 2011987.
For similarly decorated objects, please see:
- Porcelaine de le Compagnie des Indes, (M. Beurdeley, Office du Livre, Fribourg, 1962), p.178, cat. 109.
- Chinese export porcelain. Chine de Commande, (D.F. Lunsingh Scheurleer, London, 1974), English translation of the Dutch edition, Hilversum 1966, cat. 295.
- La porcelaine des Compagnies des Indes a décor Occidental, (F. & N. Hervouët & Y. Bruneau, Flammarion - Pere Castor, Paris 1986), p.182, cat. 7.118 & 7.119.
- Ostindisk Porselen i Norge (J. Huitfeldt, Huitfeldt Forlag A.S., Oslo, 1993), p.57 & pp.110-111.
- The Choice of the Private Trader. The Private Market in Chinese Export Porcelain illustrated from the Hodroff Collection, (D.S. Howard, Zwemmer, London, 1994), pp.89-91, cat. 77-80.
- Chinese Export Porcelain in the Reeves Center Collection at Washington and Lee University, (Th. V. Litzenburg, London 2003), p.163, cat. 158.
- Chinese Export Ceramics, (R. Kerr & L. Mengoni with a contribution by Ming Wilson, V&A Publishing, London 2011), pp.65-66 & p.135, nt. 12.
Condition: A firing tension hairline to the handle (caused by the firing process), fleabite to the tip of the spout and a chip to the tip of the knob.
References:
Goldsmith Phillips 1956, p.146 & plate 67
Lunsingh Scheurleer 1974, p.158 & cat. 295
Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. 1, cat. 204, & vol. 2, cat. 355
Hervouët 1986, cat. 7.118 & 7.119
Huitfeldt 1993, p.57 & pp.110-111
Kerr 2011, pp.65-66 & p.135, nt. 12
Price: Sold.
Sold Ceramics - Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Amorous - Page 1
Object 2011808
Teapot
China
1740-1760
Height with cover 100 mm (3.94 inch), height without cover 77 mm (3.03 inch), diameter handle to spout 154 mm (6.06 inch), diameter of mouthrim 55 mm (2.17 inch), diameter of footring 50 mm (1.97 inch), weight including cover 279 grams (9.84 ounce (oz.)), weight cover 57 grams (2.01 ounce (oz.))
Teapot of globular shape on footring. Straight spout with a curved C-shaped handle. Domed pierced cover and pointed knob. Encre de Chine decorated with the 'The Valentine' or 'Alter of Love' pattern, a landscape scene with two love birds bill affectionately as they perch on Cupid's quiver while his bow lies nearby in the front an altar with two flaming hearts, flanked by a breadfruit tree with a shepherd's pipes. The cover is decorated en suite.
According to Motley this is a well known pattern found on a small range of Chinese export pieces. The origins are not clear but it seems to have been done for Lord Anson in 1743 and is based on a drawing by Sir Piercy Brett (c.1710-1781) who was Lieutenant on Anson's flagship HMS Centurion on his voyage round the world. (1740-1744) Anson made Brett captain of the Centurion while they were in Canton, 30 Sept 1743, and he did many drawings of the voyage. The earliest version of this pattern has a breadfruit tree and a palm tree then appear in the centre of an export armorial dinner service with the arms of Anson. In this service the tree has garlands of flowers and many of the elements of this pattern are present: the flaming hearts on the altar, the dog, the shepherd's crook, the birds, the bow and arrows. Sometimes drawn back curtains are added which are very suggestive of an erotic voyeurism, resembling the drapes of a four poster bed. Such use of suggestive array was popular for an eighteenth century audience and would have been readily comprehensible to an educated eighteenth century eye. The use of pastoral imagery and symbolism as code for amorous activities was ubiquitous then. The Valentine design was used on its own as well as on armorial and pseudo-armorial objects. (Motley 2014)
Howard states that the idea for the Valentine pattern, by Piercy Brett, was certainly inspired by Anson and Piercy's stay on Tenian Island to collect breadfruit trees for the British West Indian colonies. An illustration in Anson's Voyages shows a very similar breadfruit tree and palm while other allusions are to absent loved ones. The Valentine pattern had a popularity which saw it produced in underglaze blue with hounds and puppies and with Chinese-looking shepherds in European clothes seated beneath pine trees. It was copied at Worcester and elements appear on Chinese snuffbottles and rim cartouches for a decade after the Anson's service. It became in fact part of the repertoire of Chinese workshops in Canton. (Howard 1994)
For similarly decorated objects, please see:
- China trade porcelain. An account of its historical background, manufacture, and decoration and a study of the Helena Woolworth McCann Collection, (J. Goldsmith Phillips, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1956). p.152, Plate 67.
- Porcelaine de le Compagnie des Indes, (M. Beurdeley, Office du Livre, Fribourg, 1962), p.178, cat. 109.
- Chinese export porcelain. Chine de Commande, (D.F. Lunsingh Scheurleer, London, 1974), English translation of the Dutch edition, Hilversum 1966, cat. 295.
- China for the West. Chinese Porcelain and other Decorative Arts for Export illustrated from the Mottahedeh Collection, (D.S. Howard & J. Ayers, Philip Wilson Publishers for Sotheby Parke Bernet Publications, London 1978), vol. 1, pp.205-206, cat. 204 & vol. 2, p.364, cat. 355.
- La porcelaine des Compagnies des Indes a décor Occidental, (F. & N. Hervouët & Y. Bruneau, Flammarion - Pere Castor, Paris 1986), p.182, cat. 7.118 & 7.119.
- The Choice of the Private Trader. The Private Market in Chinese Export Porcelain illustrated from the Hodroff Collection, (D.S. Howard, Zwemmer, London, 1994), pp.89-91, cat. 77-80.
- Chinese Export Porcelain in the Reeves Center Collection at Washington and Lee University, (Th. V. Litzenburg, London 2003), p.163, cat. 158.
Condition:Perfect.
References:
Goldsmith Phillips 1956, plate 67
Lunsingh Scheurleer 1974, cat. 295
Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. 1, cat. 204, & vol. 2, cat. 355
Hervouët 1986, cat. 7.118 & 7.119
Price: Sold.
Sold Couples
Sold Ceramics - Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Couples - Page 1
Object 2010413
Teacup
China
1725-1735
Provenance: R&G McPherson Antiques, London, UK, stock number 22060.
Height 38 mm (1.50 inch), diameter of rim 75 mm (2.95 inch), diameter of footring 35 mm (1.38 inch
Teacup on a footring with spreading sides and an everted rim. The base is glazed. Decorated in overglaze green enamel, iron-red, black and gold with a European couple and their dog walking in a Chinese garden, on the inner rim a narrow diaper pattern border with four reserves filled with a flower spray. On the base a circular paper dealers label that reads 'R&G McPherson Antiques London W8, with the handwritten stock number 22060'.
Since Williamson (1927) this couple was named as such, referring to the Dutch Governor-General Diederik Durven (governor-general 1729-1931) and his wife Anna Catharina de Roo. Speculation has also led to the figures being misidentified as King Louis XIV of France and la marquise de Montespan or Madame de Maintenon.
As Howard and Ayers rightly point out, there is no proof of this identification and it is much more likely that the design was based on a print or drawing, depicting a ‘happy Frisian couple’ of Dutch tradition in a general way. They also state that both D.F. Lunsingh Scheurleer and M. Beurdeley are also in agreement that the subject is Dutch rather than French (Jörg 1989/2, p.76), (Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. I, pp. 145-146 & plate 127)
Sargent suggests a depiction of a “Sailor’s Farewell”, a theme which was used extensively on Western art of all media, and consequently it was fairly commonly depicted on export decorative arts including porcelain, reverse paintings on glass and lacquer. (Sargent 2012, pp.193-195)
As it turns out, Howard & Ayers were right on the mark with their suggestion of a ‘happy Frisian couple’. In his Emden catalogue (2015), after he had made a closer study of the couple’s attire, Suebsman points out that both the man and woman are wearing clothing of the sort worn up to the mid-19th century at weddings in the Frisian community of Hindeloopen. Now but a small village, in the Dutch Golden Age Hindeloopen was a flourishing port town in which a considerable amount of trade was conducted.
Bridal couple in Hindeloopen costume, taken from Th. Melkenboer, De Nederlandse Nationale Klederdrachten, Amsterdam 2017, plate 63.
The bridegroom has a tricorn (driesteek) on his head and is wearing a long coat with several knots, breeches and low shoes, whilst the bride sports a white net veil (witmoer). Her coat (wentke) was made not from local material but invariably from choice Indian chintz, usually embellished with exotic patterns in a brownish red. She carried her bag to the right to indicate that she was now spoken for. The dog on the plate is probably to be interpreted as a symbolical reference to the couple’s fidelity to one another.
Couples and families in similar costume also exist in the form of blanc de Chine and polychrome figures from the late 17th and 18th centuries. A drawing of one such couple is documented on a coromandel lacquer chest-of-drawers illustrated in Hervouët & Bruneau. (Emden 2015/1, p. 97 cat. 72)
For an identically decorated teacup, please see:
For identically decorated objects, please see:
- Collecting Chinese Export Porcelain, (E. Gordon, Universe Books, New York, 1977), p. 84, cat 73.
- La porcelaine des Compagnies des Indes a décor Occidental, (F. & N. Hervouët & Y. Bruneau, Flammarion - Pere Castor, Paris 1986), p.90, cat. 7.31.
- Faszination des Fremden: China - Japan - Europa, (D. Antonin & D. Suebsman, Hetjens-Museum, Deutsches Keramikmuseum Düsseldorf, 2009), pp.230-231, cat. 97.
Condition: Three minute rim fleabites.
References:
Lunsingh Scheurleer 1966, cat. 194
Lunsingh Scheurleer 1968, cat. 218
Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. I, pp. 145-146 & plate 127
Lunsingh Scheurleer 1989, p.220-221, Afb.G
Antonin & Suebsman 2009, cat. 94
Price: Sold.
Sold Indoor Scenes
Sold Ceramics - Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Indoor Scenes - Page 1
Object 2010460
Teacup
China
c.1735
Height 38 mm (1.50 inch), diameter of rim 72 mm (2.84 inch), diameter of footring 25 mm (0.98 inch)
Teacup on footring, slightly everted rim. Decorated in encre de Chine and gold with two European figures wearing Oriental clothes in an Oriental interior with a door. One figure is standing wearing an elaborate robe holding a sprig of coral, the other with a dog on a leash beside a large vase decorated with a monster head (t'au-t'ie). The vase is filled with sprays of fungus and peacock feathers. Beside to the vase a wine pot and a pure depiction of an ancient bronze 'Hu', a water jug. On the bottom a decoration of an orchid (Cymbidium virescens), the Lan Hua a motif commonly seen on fine Chinese export porcelain of around 1740. On the inside rim a leafy scroll border reserved with flower heads.
This scene is interesting because the Chinese painter choose to portrait these two European figures in the symbolism of his own country by placing two large peacock feathers, two coral branches and two fungi in a large vase, the first being a symbol of high rank, the other two stand for longevity. (Lunsingh Scheurleer 1974, p. 222)
Spruit states that in her opinion the figures depicted in this scene are "tribute carriers", figures carrying something precious on their way to present the objects to the Emperor and by doing so acknowledging his power. In a museum in Taiwan there is a painting on silk by Yen Li-pên (618-907) on which we can see local rulers with their servants on their way to bring grace to the Emperor. These figures are depicted with exotic hair, clothes and precious objects such as coral, animals and plants. The barefoot servants who carry the objects wear the same slave wrist collars as our little boy (also barefoot). The he-goat is similarly spotted as the dog. Perhaps we can state that Yen Li-pên's painting on silk and this 18th-century decoration are two testimonials of a familiar motif, because they were the "tribute carriers", surely for the 18th-century porcelain decorators. So it seems very likely that the nameless porcelain decorator who decorated this teacup somewhere in a Canton workshop during the mid 18th-century, depicted an image that he could relate to, most likely from images he had seen on prints or in books of 18th-century Chinese "tribute carriers". (Spruit 1967, pp.179-183)
For identically, in encre de Chine or polychrome, decorated objects please see:
- "Een decor in encre de Chine", L. Spruit in; ANTIEK, II-4, November 1967, pp. 179-183.
- Chinese Export Porcelain. Chine de Commande, (D.F. Lunsingh Scheurleer, Faber and Faber Limited, London, 1974), p.222, cat. 222
- La porcelaine des Compagnies des Indes a décor Occidental, (F. & N. Hervouët & Y. Bruneau, Flammarion - Pere Castor, Paris 1986), p.113, cat. 5.8.
Condition: A tiny restored frit to the rim.
References:
Lunsingh Scheurleer 1966, cat. 213
Lunsingh Scheurleer 1974, cat. 222
Price: Sold.
More pictures of object 2011831, an identically decorated, sold saucer >>
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