Pater Gratia Oriental Art

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: 

  • Meissen Style
  • Outdoor Scenes
  • Various

 

Sold Meissen Style

The maritime commerce scenes on the original Meissen ware were often copied from etchings after Johann Wilhelm Baur (16078-1640). Chinoiseries predominated from quite early on at the Meissen Manufactory, but from about 1730 there was a shift to depicting European settings. (Emden 21015/1, p.101)

2011704AH
2011704AH

Sold Ceramics - Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Meissen Style - Page 1

 

Object 2011704AH

 

Teacup and saucer

 

China

 

1750-1775

 

Height of teacup 43 mm (1.69 inch), diameter of rim 76 mm (2.99 inch), diameter of footring 34 mm (1.33 inch), weight 53 grams (1.87 ounce (oz.))

Height of saucer 23 mm (0.91 inch), diameter of rim 120 mm (4.72 inch), diameter of footring 72 mm (2.83 inch), weight 61 grams (2.15 ounce (oz.)

 

Teacup and saucer on footrings with spreading sides and rims. Decorated in various overglaze enamels, and gold after the style of Meissen porcelain with a European harbour with a large fortress, mountains houses, boats with fisherman and trees. On the quay two men hunting for ducks. On the sides and rim a decorative pattern of scrollwork. The reverse is undecorated. The teacup is decorated en suite.

  

Chine de commande

 

This French expression is used for Chinese porcelain, of which the shape and mainly the decorations are derived from Western examples. Decorations, often European prints (engravings) were cheap and easily brought along by ship to Asia. They were then meticulously copied on order in China, at first in blue and white, but very soon (from approximately 1715 onwards) also in enamel colours. This often-involved porcelain featuring family coats of arms – how fancy this looked on a dinner table – though all kinds of other depictions were also popular. Scenes from the Bible and classical antiquity, depictions of ships, harbours, landscapes as well as city views were all quite common too. Slightly erotic scenes were also much favoured. (The World at Home: Asian porcelain and Delft pottery held from 17 June 2017 to 10 March 2019 at the Groninger Museum, The Netherlands) 

 

The design on this teacup and saucer is a direct copy from a Meissen original, including the decorative pattern of scrollwork which is typical of Meissen porcelain of the period 1720-1740. The very detailed and refined painting, so faithfully copying the original, illustrates the craftsmanship of the Chinese porcelain painter and the quality that could be reached in export porcelain. However, Chine de commande, like this must have cost a good deal more than the ordinary enamelled wares for export. (Jörg 1989/2, p.226)

 

For an identically decorated dish, in the collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam please click here.

 

For an identically decorated dish, please see: 

Condition teacup: Perfect.

Condition saucer: Perfect

 

References:

Hervouët 1986, 15.20

Jörg 1989/2, cat. 89

The World at Home: Asian porcelain and Delft pottery held from 17 June 2017 to 10 March 2019 at the Groninger Museum, The Netherlands.

 

Price: Sold.

 

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More pictures of object 2011704B another identically shaped, sized and decorated, sold saucer >>

2010803
2010803

Sold Ceramics - Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Meissen Style - Page 1

 

Object 2010803

 

Milk jug

 

China

 

c.1745

 

Height with cover 122 mm (4.80 inch), diameter of rim 72 mm (2.84 inch), diameter of mouthrim 37 mm (1.46 inch), diameter of footring 37 mm (1.46 inch)

 

Milk jug on a footring, pear shaped body with handle, small triangular spout at the rim. The C-shaped handle is placed opposite the spout. Matching cover with knob. Decorated in various overglaze enamels, iron-red, gold after the style of Meissen porcelain with a European harbour with a tower and tall trees on the quay three men fishing in a lobed cartouche. On the rim a spearhead pattern border. On the cover a decorative pattern of floral scrollwork, around the rim a spearhead border.

 

The design is a direct copy from a Meissen original, including the lobed cartouche and the decorative pattern of scrollwork which is typical of Meissen porcelain of the period 1720-1740. The very detailed and refined painting, so faithfully copying the original, illustrates the craftsmanship of the Chinese porcelain painter and the quality that could be reached in export porcelain. However Chine de commande, like this must have cost a good deal more than the ordinary enamelled wares for export. (Jörg 1989/2, p.226)

 

For similarly decorated objects, please see,

Condition: The knob of the cover has been broken and glued back. A tiny frit to the tip of the spout and two tiny unglazed firing flaw spots to the handle.

 

References:

Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. 2, cat. 534

Hervouët 1986, 15

Jörg 1989/2, cat. 89

Antonin & Suebsman 2009, cat. 102

 

Price: Sold.

 

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2010663
2010663

Sold Ceramics - Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Meissen Style - Page 1

 

Object 2010663

 

Saucer

 

China

 

1730-1740

 

Height 21 mm (0.83 inch), diameter of rim 115 mm (4.53 inch), diameter of footring 66 mm (2.60 inch)

 

Saucer on footring, slightly everted rim. Decorated in various overglaze enamels, iron-red and gold after the style of Meissen porcelain with a European harbour with a tower and tall trees on the quay three men fishing in a lobed cartouche. On the sides and rim the laub und bandelwerk, a decorative pattern of scrollwork and rocaille. The reverse is undecorated.

 

The design is a direct copy from a Meissen original, including the lobed cartouche and the laub und bandelwerk, a decorative pattern of scrollwork and rocaille which is typical of Meissen porcelain of the period 1720-1740. The very detailed and refined painting, so faithfully copying the original, illustrates the craftsmanship of the Chinese porcelain painter and the quality that could be reached in export porcelain. However Chine de commande, like this must have cost a good deal more than the ordinary enamelled wares for export. (Jörg 1989/2, p.226)

 

For identically decorated objects, please see:

For similarly decorated objects, please see,

Condition: A short consolidated hairline and some tiny restored fleabites to the rim.

 

References:

Gordon 1977, cat. 56

Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. 2, cat. 534

Hervouët 1986, 15

Jörg 1989/2, cat. 89

Antonin & Suebsman 2009, cat. 102

Suchomel 2015, cat. 253

 

Price: Sold.

 

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Sold Outdoor Scenes

20121559
20121559

Sold Ceramics - Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Outdoor Scenes - Page 1

 

Object 2012559

 

Dish

 

China

 

c.1700

 

Height 25 mm (0.98 inch), diameter of rim 163 mm (6.42 inch), diameter of footring 90 mm (3.54 inch), weight 133 grams (4.69 ounce (oz.))

 

Small dish on footring, flat rim. Decorated in underglaze blue with a European style landscape depicting a man and a woman standing on either side of a tree: he wears a jerkin and carries gourd flask at his waist; they are accompanied by sheep and carry staves. The sides undecorated. On the rim a continuous pattern of flower scrolls. On the reverse two long flower sprays alternating with mountains. Marked on the base with the six-character mark: Da Ming Cheng hua nian zhi, (Prepared during the Chenghua reign of the Great Ming Dynasty (1465-1487)), in a double circle, underglaze blue.

 

Eighteenth-century Chinese porcelain with European decoration. Religious subjects. The earliest scene from the Old Testament is that of Adam and Eve on a plate from the Kangxi period in underglaze blue. Adam is to the left of the tree and Eve to the right. He is accompanied by a he-goat(?) and by several other animals. The im-decoration of tendrils and flowers reminds one of those found in the second half of the seventeenth century. (Lunsingh Scheurleer 1974, p.143)

 

The composition, which has not been traced, is reminiscent of Delftware designs of the 'Adam and Eve' type. (Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. 1, p.70, cat 27)

 

The shepherd and shepherdess may represent Adam and Eve after their expulsion from Paradise. A Western (biblical?) illustration was probably used as the model, but this has not been traced. This is an early example of a narrative chine de commande representation in underglaze blue. Other examples are known but these differ from each other in the way the representation is painted. Jörg 2002/2, p.142, cat. 97)

 

For identically decorated dishes, please see:

Condition: A firing flaw to the base and three restored chips, one with a connected hairline, all to the rim.

 

References:

Lunsingh Scheurleer 1966, cat. 225 

Lunsingh Scheurleer 1974, cat. 234

Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. 1, cat. 234

Lunsingh Scheurleer 1982/2, cat. 179

Hervouët 1986, cat. 7.39 & 7.40

Hartog 1990, cat. 139

Jörg 2002/2, cat. 97

MacGuire 2023, cat. 450

 

Price: Sold.

 

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2010338
2010338

Sold Ceramics - Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Outdoor Scenes - Page 1

 

Object 2010338

 

Dish

 

China

 

c.1700

 

Height 32 mm (1.26 inch), diameter of rim 200 mm (7.87 inch), diameter of footring 127 mm (5.00 inch)

 

Moulded octagonal dish on footring with panelled borders and a crowded central motif combining two designs, Decorated in underglaze blue. The moulded interior wall is divided into eight panels, four are decorated with riverscapes and four with flowering plants. In the centre a spray of asters in the upper half of the design, the lower half shows a small house and a separate tall chimney while two partridge-like birds fly in the sky. On the exterior wall three sprays of flowering branches. Marked on the base with the single character mark: Yu, (Jade (Yuan to Qing)), in a double circle, underglaze blue. (Howard 1994, p.44)

 

In the Netherlands this specific design is called koekoek uit ´t huisje or 'cuckoo outside of the cottage'. The origin has never been explained. There are a number of variations and the popularity of the design ensured its reordering over a considerable period. The design is exactly as painted on cups and saucers of c.1695, recovered off the Vung Tau peninsula from the wreck of a Chinese vessel sailing to Batavia. In Sotheby's auction catalogue “Made in Imperial China. 76.000 pieces of Chinese Export Porcelain from the Ca Mau shipwreck, circa 1725. seven teacups and thirty-two saucers identically decorated were sold as the “Garden Pavilion“ pattern and described as “decorated with a small pavilion, its chimney smoking, flanked by birds perched on a giant column and bush, the rim with a stylised laurel pattern border“. Sotheby's adds that the pattern exists in early Meissen. (Lunsingh Scheurleer 1966, p.102), (Howard 1994, p.44), (Amsterdam 2007, p.124, lots 461-462)

 

For an identically decorated dish, please see;

For similarly decorated objects, please see;

Condition: A firing flaw and two hairlines to the rim.

 

References:

Lunsingh Scheurleer 1966, cat. 141

Frank 1969, p.76

Lunsingh Scheurleer 1974, cat. 147

Hervouët 1986, cat. 10.7

Hartog 1990, cat. 98

Davison 1994, cat. 33

Howard 1994, cat. 10

Amsterdam 2007, lot 461-462

 

Price: Sold.

 

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Not illustrated objects 2010817, 2010818, 2010818A and 2010818B, four other identically, shaped, sized and decorated, sold dishes. 

2012045
2012045

Sold Ceramics - Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Outdoor Scenes - Page 1

 

Object 2012045

 

Dish

 

China

 

c.1700

 

Height 46 mm (1.81 inch), diameter of rim 268 mm (10.55 inch), diameter of footring 149 mm (5.87 inch), weight 619 grams (21.83 ounce (oz.))

 

Dish on footring, panelled sides and undulating rim. Imari decorated in underglaze blue, iron red and gold. In the centre a small house with a tiled terrace and a separate tall chimney to the left flanked by haystacks or bushes, who in turn are flanked by a bamboo and flowering prunus plant. On the sides 16 petal-shaped reserves, four are filled with a chrysanthemum flowerhead on an underglaze blue ground with leafy scroll in gold, the other twelve are filled with flowering plants, flower heads or leafy scrolls. On the exterior wall two flowering peony sprays. Marked on the base with the symbol mark: Lozenge, one of the Eight Precious Symbols,   in a double circle, underglaze blue. Also on the base an old rectangular paper price label stating: '1250,-'.

 

This somewhat puzzling combination of objects can be directly linked to a specific design known in the Netherlands as  koekoek  op ´t huisje  or 'cuckoo  on the House'. The source  of this peculiar design has never been explained. There are a number of variations and the popularity of the design ensured its reordering over a considerable period. (Lunsingh Scheurleer 1966, p.102), (Howard 1994, p.44) 

 

For an identically shaped, sized and decorated dish, please see:

 For a smaller, identically shaped and decorated dish, please see:

For other variations of the design, please see;

The cargo of  the famous shipwreck ‘Ca Mau’, dated c. 1725, also contained seven teacups and thirty-two saucers with the ‘Koekoek op ’t huisje’ pattern. They were sold as the “Garden Pavilion“ pattern and described as “decorated with a small pavilion, its chimney smoking, flanked by birds perched on a giant column and bush, the rim with a stylised laurel pattern border“. Sotheby's adds that the “pattern exists in early Meissen”. The distinctive bundle of asters of the pattern are also painted on cups and saucers dated  c.1695, recovered off the Vung Tau peninsula from the wreck of a Chinese vessel sailing to Batavia. (Howard 1994, p.44), (Amsterdam 2007, p.124, lots 461-462)

 

For the shipwreck examples, please see:

However, on this dish a key detail is conspicuously absent:  the two cuckoos who are usually placed either on the roof of the cottage or in the air to the left and right. Another commonly seen detail, two large asters on stems and/or a bundle of asters in the middle,  here seem to be replaced by a bamboo and prunus.

Finally, another unusual feature of this dish is that the design is painted in Imari colours instead of underglaze blue, which is extremely rare. 

 

Condition: Some firing flaws to the centre and some glaze rough spots to the rm.

 

References:

Lunsingh Scheurleer 1966, cat. 141

Frank 1969, p.76

Lunsingh Scheurleer 1974, cat. 147

Lunsingh Scheurleer 1977, cat. 176

Lunsingh Scheurleer 1982, cat. 91

Hervouët 1986, cat. 10.7

Hartog 1990, cat. 98

Davison 1994, cat. 33

Howard 1994, cat. 10

Jörg & Flecker 2001, cat. 39/39A

Amsterdam 2007, lot 461-462

Emden 2015/1, cat. 13

 

Price: Sold.

 

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2011138BCDE
2011138BCDE

Sold Ceramics - Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Outdoor Scenes - Page 1

 

Objects 2011138B/C/D/E

 

Four teacups and saucers

 

China

 

1723-1735

 

Height of teacups 35 mm (1.38 inch), diameter of rims 64 mm (2.52 inch), diameter of footrings: 32 mm (1.26 inch)

Height of saucers 16 mm (0.63 inch), diameter of rims 101 mm (3.98 inch), diameter of footrings 50 mm (1.97 inch)

 

Four teacups and saucers on footrings. Decorated in underglaze blue. In the centre of the saucer, a spray of asters in the upper half of the design, the lower half shows a small house and a separate tall chimney while two partridge-like birds fly in the sky. Around the rim a stylised laurel border. On the reverse three flower sprays. The teacup is decorated en suite.

 

In the Netherlands this specific design is called koekoek uit ´t huisje or 'cuckoo outside of the cottage'. The origin has never been explained. There are a number of variations and the popularity of the design ensured its reordering over a considerable period. The design is exactly as painted on cups and saucers of c.1695, recovered off the Vung Tau peninsula from the wreck of a Chinese vessel sailing to Batavia. In Sotheby's auction catalogue “Made in Imperial China. 76.000 pieces of Chinese Export Porcelain from the Ca Mau shipwreck, circa 1725. seven teacups and thirty-two saucers identically decorated were sold as the “Garden Pavilion“ pattern and described as “decorated with a small pavilion, its chimney smoking, flanked by birds perched on a giant column and bush, the rim with a stylised laurel pattern border“. Sotheby's adds that the pattern exists in early Meissen. (Lunsingh Scheurleer 1966, p.102), (Howard 1994, p.44), (Amsterdam 2007, p.124, lots 461-462)

 

For identically decorated teacups and saucers, please see:

For an identically decorated dish, please see:

Condition teacups: All have tiny fleabites to the rim.

Condition saucer: All have tiny fleabites and short hairlines to the rim.

 

References:

Lunsingh Scheurleer 1966, cat. 141

Frank 1969, p.76.

Lunsingh Scheurleer 1974, cat. 147

Hervouët 1986, cat. 10.7

Hartog 1990, cat. 98

Howard 1994, cat. 10

Amsterdam 2007, p.124, lots 461-462

Emden 2015/1, cat. 13

Emden 2015/2, cat. 13

  

Price: Sold.

 

More pictures >>

More pictures of object 2011138A another identically shaped, sized and decorated, sold, teacup and saucer >>

2011545
2011545

Sold Ceramics - Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Outdoor Scenes - Page 1

 

Object 2011154

 

Dish

 

China

 

1720-1735

 

Height 26 mm (1.02 inch), diameter of rim 200 mm (7.87 inch), diameter of footring 120 mm (4.72 inch), weight 251 grams (8.85 ounce (oz.))

 

Dish on footring with a flat rim and a moulded wavy edge in relief. Decorated in underglaze blue with a village with a church and houses, a lighthouse with trees, figures with a cow, and the poles with clouds. The slightly crimped rim is painted with a wave-scroll border. On the reverse three sprays of flowering branches. The low footring is encircled with a double concentric band.

 

This design on this dish has traditionally been called 'Deshima' or 'Scheveningen'. It certainly does not depict the Dutch factory in Deshima (Nagasaki), a fan-shaped, man-made island in Japan to which Westerners were restricted between 1641 and 1862. Scheveningen, a fishermen´s village on the Dutch coast near The Hague, is a more appropriate name. In fact 47 "Scheveningen" plates were already mentioned in the 1778 sale catalogue of the porcelain shop of Martha Raap in Amsterdam, clearly indicating this type. Research was undertaken to find the print that was used as a model, non with this view have come to light. it is therefore possible that another source was used, maybe a plate or dish in the so-called Frijtom style. This is the most common version of this design, copied by the Chinese. The design, almost certainly copied from a drawing by Frederick van Frijtom (1652-1702), was highly popular in The Netherlands, and possibly also in Japan as a kind of Western exoticism. The rim design is unique in Chinese export porcelain and is almost certainly after a silver original. (Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. 1, pp.72-73), (Terwee 1989, pp.494-501), (Jörg 2003/1, p.240)

 

These dishes with the so called 'Deshima' or 'Scheveningen' design first appeared, in underglaze blue, on Japanese dishes of around c.1700. In the collection of the Groninger Museum is a blanc Chinese porcelain dish overdecorated in Delft (the Netherlands) c.1700-1730 with identical design. (Jörg 2003/1, cat. 307a)

 

For identically decorated dishes, please see:

For a similarly decorated, sold, Chinese dish, please see:

For an originally decorated, sold, Japanese dish, please see:

Condition: two spots of popped bubbles glaze caused during the firing process and a shallow glaze chip to the rim.

 

References:

Lunsingh Scheurleer 1966, cat. 272

Lunsingh Scheurleer 1971, cat. 65

Corbeiller 1974, cat. 10.

Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. 1, cat. 32

Jenyns 1979, cat. 19a, (i)

Arts 1983, Lochem 1983, Plate 57

New York 1985, lot 22

Lunsingh Scheurleer 1989, cat. 176

Terwee 1989, pp.494-501

Kassel 1990, cat. 246

Howard 1994, cat 11

New York 2000, lot 95

Jörg 2003/1, cat. 306 & 307

Amsterdam 2007, lots 223-233

Antonin & Suebsman 2009, cat. 99

Schölvinck 2010, pp. 56-58

Sargent 2012, cat. 42

 

Price: Sold.

 

More pictures >>

More pictures of object 2010145, another identically shaped, sized and decorated, sold dish >>

More pictures of object 2011240, another identically shaped, sized and decorated, sold dish >>

More pictures of object 2011221, another identically shaped, sized and decorated, sold dish >>

2010715
2010715

Sold Ceramics - Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Outdoor Scenes - Page 1

 

Object 2010712

 

Teapot stand

 

China

 

c.1730

 

Height 25 mm (0.98 inch), dimensions 135 mm (5.31 inch) x 122 mm (4.80 inch), weight 150 grams (5.29 ounce (oz.))

 

Teapot stand / pattipan or saucer dish, hexagonal ribbed spreading sides, lobed rim, on a flat unglazed base. Used as teapot or milk jug stand. Polychrome decorated in various overglaze enamels, black and gold with a European man resting against a tree smoking a pipe in the company of a child and two dogs. The central representation surrounded by flower scrolls on a gold/black ground. Around the inside rim a trellis pattern border.

 

As early as 1728 the Dutch East India Company, (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC), "Dagh-registers" state that its ship "Coxhorn" that left Amsterdam in 1728 with destination China, returned to the Netherlands on June 13th 1730, fully loaded with tea and porcelain, among its cargo were, for instance, 810 tea pots, 251 pairs of small covered sugar-boxes and 600 pattipans. A pattipan was used to protect the surface of luxurious lacquer or painted tea tables, against the influence of a hot teapot or drops running from its spout. If, in certain circles, a special tea table was not at hand it served to protect the furniture or its valuable table-cloth from tea spots. The Dutch word "pattipan" is most likely derived from the English word "patty pan" meaning a pastry mould for little pies or pastries. These "patty pans" were very similar, in shape and size, to our "pattipannen". (Volker 1959), (Kleyn 1980, pp. 253-261)

 

For an identically decorated saucer, please see:

Condition: Four frtis to the rim and some wear/loss to the enamels.

 

References:

Volker 1959

Kleyn 1980, pp. 253-261

Hervouët 1986, cat. 4.63

Suchomel 2015, cat. 259

 

Price: Sold.

 

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2012574
2012574

Sold Ceramics - Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Outdoor Scenes - Page 1

 

Object 2012574

 

Dish

 

China

 

c.1735

 

Height 30 mm (1.18 inch), diameter of rim 222 mm (8.74 inch), diameter of footring 120 mm (4.72 inch), weight 443 grams (15.63 ounce (oz.))

 

Dish on footring with shaped rim. Polychrome decorated in rich famille rose enamels with a Western figure seated on pierced taihu (ornamental garden) rockwork encircled by a border of rich rose-pink scroll-and-shell pattern. On the sides a gilt spearhead border and on the rim a border of six panels, each with a Western figure dancing or playing an instrument and flanked by flower sprays. The reverse is undecorated.

 

There is a series of such plates with different musicians, but the meaning is obscure, and because there is little realism it seems probable the Chinese painters were copying a series of sketches, which may have originated in the East rather than from any Western source. Such porcelain may well have been as popular within China as it was for export.  (Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. II, p.359)

 

Picturesque subjects

 

This wide classification of themes - most of them concerned with the subjects of love, beauty and happiness - derive from the great variety of prints and pictures with subjects based on artistic engravings or variations (usually erotic) of these which flowed to China from 1740 onwards. If they had any common factor it must have been the popularity which, it was hoped, would attend their advent in the form of porcelain in the markets of Europe.

Unlike the mythological and literary subjects, the earliest probably preceded Pronk, or were at least unaffected by his efforts, and the more standardized products which emerged after 1740. Such early examples appear to be, in the main, of a style designed by the Chinese themselves with musicians and bird sellers showing only rudimentary signs of European draughtsmanship. (Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. II, p.359)

 

For an identically shaped, sized and similarly decorated dish, please see:

Hervouët and Bruneau also show other designs of a young European man playing an instrument and although not belonging to the same series they nevertheless have an obvious family resemblance. (Hervouët 1986, p.184)

 

For examples of these other objects, please see:

Mudge illustrates a Chinese shaving basin polychrome decorated with a young European man playing a oboe while standing in a garden landscape with various flowering plants.

Condition: Professionally restored after being broken in two and two restored chips and a frit to the rim.

 

References:

Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. II, cat. 348

Hervouët 1986, cat. 8.3, 8.10 & 8.14

Mudge 2000, cat. 74

 

Price: Sold.

 

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2012363
2012363

Sold Ceramics - Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Outdoor Scenes - Page 1

 

Object 2012363

 

Dish

 

China

 

c.1735

 

Height 39 mm (1.54 inch), diameter of rim 229 mm (9.02 inch), diameter of footring 120 mm (4.72 inch), weight 351 grams (12.58 ounce (oz.))

 

Dish on footring, flat underglaze brown-edged rim (jia mangkou). Polychrome decorated in iron-red and gold and blue, green, pink and black overglaze enamels with a young European man seated on a taihu (garden) rockwork playing an oboe. On the sides a continuous shell-pattern border and on the rim flower sprays alternating with birds in flight. The reverse is undecorated. On the base a rectangular white paper label and handwritten in black ink: "La Porcelaine des Compagnies des Indes a decor occidental" p.184 Plate 8.3.

 

Picturesque subjects

 

This wide classification of themes - most of them concerned with the subjects of love, beauty and happiness - derive from the great variety of prints and pictures with subjects based on artistic engravings or variations (usually erotic) of these which flowed to China from 1740 onwards. If they had any common factor it must have been the popularity which, it was hoped, would attend their advent in the form of porcelain in the markets of Europe.

Unlike the mythological and literary subjects, the earliest probably preceded Pronk, or were at least unaffected by his efforts, and the more standardized products which emerged after 1740. Such early examples appear to be, in the main, of a style designed by the Chinese themselves with musicians and bird sellers showing only rudimentary signs of European draughtsmanship. (Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. II, p.359)

 

For an identically shaped, sized and decorated dish, please see:

Howard & Ayers state that there is a series of such plates with different musicians, but the meaning is obscure, and because there is little realism it seems probable the Chinese painters were copying a series of sketches, which may have originated in the East rather than from any Western source. Such porcelain may well have been popular within China as it was for export. (Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. II, p.359)

 

Hervouët and Bruneau state that two other designs of a young European man playing an instrument are known and although not belonging to the same series they nevertheless have an obvious family resemblance. (Hervouët 1986, p.184)

 

For examples of these other objects, please see:

Mudge illustrates a Chinese shaving basin polychrome decorated with a young European man playing a oboe while standing in a garden landscape with various flowering plants.

Condition: Two firing flaws and three fleabites to the rim.

 

References:

Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. II, cat. 348

Hervouët 1986, cat. 8.3, 8.10 & 8.14

London 1990, lot 177

Mudge 2000, cat. 74

 

Price: Sold.

 

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Sold Ceramics- Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Outdoor Scenes - Page 1

 

Object 2011898

 

Teacup

 

China

 

1740-1750

 

Height 40 mm (1.58 inch), diameter of rim 79 mm (3.11 inch), diameter of footring 37 mm (1.46 inch), weight 39 grams (1.38 ounce (oz.))

 

Teacup on footring with a slightly everted rim. Decorated in encre de Chine, gold and a light pinkish gold wash with a Chine de commande outdoor scene with a European house, two men one standing the other seated and two seated ladies using a spinning wheel in a garden with plants, trees and two smalll dogs. On the bottom an orchid (Cymbidium virescens). 

 

The orchid (Cymbidium virescens), the Lan Hua. is a motif commonly seen on fine Chinese export porcelain of around 1740.

 

Encre de Chine is an overglaze enamel colour, possibly based on a combination of manganese and iron oxide, which was developed in Chinese porcelain factories around 1722. It is admirably suited to the painting of fine lines, and was used on porcelain for both the Chinese domestic market and export. Excellent copies of subjects from European prints, to be painted on Chine de commande, could be achieved using encre de Chine, with engravings sometimes reproduced line for line. In 18th-century sources it is occasionally described as zwarte kunst or 'black magic'; the French call it grisaille. Sepia is a brownish-black variety. (Jörg 1995, p.81)

 

This scene was most likely taken from an European print of which the original has not been identified.

 

Condition: Some professionally restored frits to the rim.

 

Reference:

Jörg 1995, p.81

 

Price: Sold.

 

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2011341
2011341

Sold Ceramics - Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Outdoor Scenes - Page 1

 

Object 2011341

 

Dish

 

China

 

c.1750

 

Height 34 mm (1,34 inch), diameter of rim 297 mm (11.69 inch), diameter of footring 189 mm (7.44 inch)

 

Large dish on a footring, flat octagonal-shaped underglaze brown-edged rim. (jia mangkou). On the base three spur-marks in a V-pattern. Decorated in underglaze blue after a Delft tile with an unusual (Dutch) building, a large tree, a seated figure and railings leading down to a river shore with a sampan. The sides are undecorated. On the rim a continuous flower scroll. The reverse is undecorated.  

 

Howard states that the influence of other ceramics on Chinese Export porcelain increased after 1740. Silver and sometimes turned wood, European shapes had been copied from the late 17th Century onwards. In this case it is clear that a Delft tile very similar to the one illustrated was taken to China as a pattern. The Chinese copied the unusual building, the tree behind, the Dutch figure, the railings leading down to the shore - but they added their own river shore on the other bank and a sampan in between to 'balance' the scene. Such new ideas in the trade, where British merchants were concerned, usually developed from the Private Trade. The Dutch, on the other hand, were more adventurous with special designs for large company orders, although these frequently proved expensive". (Howard 1997, p. 59)

 

Of this design using the Dutch tile two versions are known, one has the Dutch figure and the sampan, on the other version this Dutch figure has been replaced by two dogs and the sampan has been erased.   

 

For an identically decorated dish, please see:

For an similarly decorated dish with the two dogs and the erased sampan, please see:

Condition: Two fleabites a frit and a chip to the rim.

 

References:

Howard 1997, cat. 56

Sargent 2012, p.183

 

Price: Sold.

 

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More pictures of object 2010756, a smaller but identically shaped and decorated, sold dish >>

More pictures of object 2011671, a smaller but identically shaped and decorated, sold dish >>

 

2010784
2010784

Sold Ceramics - Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Outdoor Scenes - Page 1

 

Object 2010784

 

Soup dish

 

China

 

c.1750

 

Provenance: R&G McPherson Antiques, London, UK, number 22373.

 

Height 40 mm (1.58 inch), diameter of rim 220 mm (8.66 inch), diameter of footring 118 mm (4.65 inch)

 

Soup dish on footring, flat octagonal underglaze brown-edged rim (jia mangkou). Decorated in underglaze blue after a Delft tile with an unusual (Dutch) building, a large tree and two dogs on a river shore. The sides are undecorated. On the rim a continuous flower scroll. The reverse is undecorated. On the base three paper labels that read; 1: R&G McPherson Antiques London W8, number 22373. 2. Qianlong c.1755 After a Delft design, minute frit 22373 275 and 3; Lawrence 30 16 JUL 2001

 

Howard states that the influence of other ceramics on Chinese Export porcelain increased after 1740. Silver and sometimes turned wood, European shapes had been copied from the late 17th Century onwards. In this case it is clear that a Delft tile very similar to the one illustrated was taken to China as a pattern. The Chinese copied the unusual building, the tree behind, (on this version the Dutch figure has been replaced by two dogs) and the railings leading down to the shore - but they added their own river shore on the other bank and left out the sampan in between to 'balance' the scene. Such new ideas in the trade, where British merchants were concerned, usually developed from the Private Trade. The Dutch, on the other hand, were more adventurous with special designs for large company orders, although these frequently proved expensive". (Howard 1997, p. 59)

 

Of this design using the Dutch tile two versions are known, one has the Dutch figure and the sampan, on the other version this Dutch figure has been replaced by two dogs and the sampan has been erased.   

 

For an identically decorated dish, please see:

For an similarly decorated dish with the Dutch figure and the sampan, please see:

Condition: A tiny fleabite to the rim and some fine crazing to the glaze.

 

References:

Gordon 1977, cat. 44

Howard 1997, cat. 56

Sargent 2012, p.183

 

Price: Sold.

 

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More pictures of object 2011775A, another identically, shaped, sized and decorated, sold, dish >>

2012228
2012228

Sold Ceramics - Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Outdoor Scenes - Page 1

 

Object 2012228

 

Chocolate cup

China

 

1740-1760

 

Height 66 mm (2.60 inch), diameter 60 mm (2.36 inch), diameter of mouthrim 58 mm (2.28 inch), diameter of footring 30 mm (1.18 inch), weight 82 grams (2.89 ounce (oz.))

 

Chocolate cup with handle, on footring. Decorated in various overglaze enamels with a father, sitting beside his daughter holding her hand, looking at his wife holding a shepherdess-staff in a landscape with mountains and trees. The handle is flanked with a river scape in a medallion its coners with smaller medallions filled trees.

 

Cups of this shape, which always have a handle, are usually called coffee cups, but in fact are chocolate cups. This is made clear from the numerous references and descriptions of "chocolate cups with handles" in the records of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Orders state that "the cups must be straight without overhanging rims", the cup narrower inside. An average height of 70 mm is given and is stressed that the diameter of the rim should be equal to the height. Drawn models of 1758 which have fortunately been preserved, show four cups of this shape with different handles, which are specified as "chocolate cups" in the description. Large tea, coffee and chocolate services always included this type of cup, but they could be bought separately as well. Enamelled cups and saucers were bought by the Company for around 20 cents and sold in the Netherlands for around 50 cents apiece.  (Jörg & Van Campen 1997, p.215, cat. 240)

 

This Chine de Commande scene is probably taken from a European print, of which the original has not yet been identified.

Condition: A frit and a chip to the inner rim.

 

References:

Jörg 1982/1, p.112, fig. 46

Jörg 1986/1, p.69, cat. 56

Jörg & Van Campen 1997, cat. 240

 

Price: Sold.

 

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2010876
2010876

Sold Ceramics - Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Outdoor Scenes - Page 1

 

Object 2010876

 

Miniature teacup and saucer

 

China

 

1780-1800

 

Height of teacup 26 mm (1.02 inch), diameter of rim 40 mm (1.57 inch), diameter of footring 21 mm (0.83 inch)

Height of saucer 21 mm (0.83 inch), diameter of rim 71 mm (2.80 inch), diameter of footring 43 mm (1.69 inch)

 

Miniature teacup and saucer on footrings, straight rims. Decorated in encre de Chine, iron-red and gold. On the outside of the teacup and in the centre of the saucer a decoration of two women and a men near a house in a garden landscape and a man and woman seated under a tree with another woman leaning on her walking cane, a third woman is standing with her hands reaching out.

 

This is most definitely from a child's tea set. Late 18th century, the period of manufacture of these pieces, children's tea parties were a common element of their socialization training. Such occasions, however, would have been held under the supervision of adults. (Pardue 2008, p.2)

 

For an identically decorated teacup and saucer, please see:

Condition:

Teacup: A hairline to the rim.

Saucer: Perfect.

 

References:

Hervouët 1986, cat. 4.39

Pardue 2008, p.2

 

Price: Sold.

 

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2010722
2010722

Sold Ceramics - Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Outdoor Scenes - Page 1

 

Object 2010722

 

Child's teacup and saucer

 

China

 

1790-1800

 

Height of teacup 55 mm (2.17 inch), diameter of rim 50 mm (1.97 inch), diameter of footring 25 mm (0.98 inch)

Height of saucer 26 mm (1.02 inch), diameter of rim 96 mm (3.78 inch), diameter of footring 48 mm (1.89 inch)

 

Small child's teacup and saucer on footrings, straight rims. Polychrome decorated in various overglaze enamels and gold with a village scene with an open cottage door from which a woman with a bonnet peers while a boy and girl stand on the roadway outside - the former with a satchel (or sack) on his back. On the sides monogrammed in an old English, gold "Copperplate" script (source: E. Breedt, Hoorn), with the initials L A S W. Around the rim a spearhead pattern border in gold on a blue ground. (Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. I, p.291)

 

Painted after a coloured mezzotint by Thomas Stoddart, R.A., (1755-1834), alias of Tomas Stothard (1755-1834), entitled 'Coming from School'. This teacup and saucer is most definitely from a child's tea set. Late 18th century, the period of manufacture of these pieces, children's tea parties were a common element of their socialization training. Such occasions, however, would have been held under the supervision of adults. The monogram would have been for a young lady for whom the set was purchased. (Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. I, p.291), (Pardue 2008, p.2)

 

For identically decorated and monogrammed saucers, please see:

For identically decorated objects without the monogram, please see,

Condition:

Teacup: A hairline to the rim.

Saucer: Two hairlines, a chip and a filled frit to the outer rim.

 

References:

Gordon 1977, p.87, cat. 78.

Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. I, p.291, cat. 288.

Hervouët 1986, cat. 4.33

New York 2000, lot 227

New York 2008, lot 398

Pardue 2008, p2

 

Price: Sold.

 

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Sold Various

2010321
2010321

Sold Ceramics - Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Various - Page 1

 

Object 2010321

 

Dish

China

1700-1720

 

Height 28 mm (1.10 inch), diameter of rim 245 mm (9.65 inch), diameter of footring 127 mm (5.00 inch)

 

Dish on footring. flat rim. Chinese Imari, decorated in underglaze blue, overglaze iron-red and gold with a wreath of pointed leaves and a large flower. Encircled by a double border the first with flower heads and leafy scrolls in gold reserved on an orange ground, the second with a spiral pattern. On the rim intertwined floral and foliate scrolls. On the reverse two elongated flower sprays. Marked on the base with a double circle, underglaze blue.

 

On a similarly, in underglaze blue, decorated dish Jörg states that, the painting is intriguing: a wreath of pointed leaves and a large flower which the Chinese porcelain painter has portrayed as a kind of peony. The flowers on the rim have been equally transformed. However, there is little doubt that they depict the flower of passion fruit, for which a botanical print was used as model. However, this print has not been traced yet. The wreath - whose leaves are not those of the passion fruit - appears to be distinct from this design, serving as a decorative element. This plant from Central and South America was already known in Europe in the early 17th century and on account of some of its outward characteristics became associated with the suffering of Christ, hence its name. This is a rare type of 'Chine de commande', almost unknown in other collections. Pseudo-armorial (monogrammed) varieties of this specific wreath design in blue-and-white are known. (Jörg 1995, p.97)

 

The elaborate border decoration is very uncommon. although some interesting parallels can be pointed to, in particular the plates and dishes decorated with flowers and butterflies after prints by the Dutch botanist Maria Sybille Merian (1646-1717). These are known in both blue and white and enamel colours; in all probability they were made for the Dutch market. A plate, painted in encre de Chine with a mildly erotic scene after a print by the draughtsman Bernard Picart (1673-1733), and featuring the same border, is depicted in Hervouët. (Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. 1, p.304). (Jörg 1995, p.97)

 

For a similarly in underglaze blue decorated dish, please see:

For objects with similarly rim decorations, please see:

Condition: A hairline and some frits and chips to the rim.

 

References:

Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. 1, pl. 298

Lunsingh Scheurleer 1982, cat. 51 

Hervouët 1986, cat. 7.115

Jörg 1995, cat. 13 & 43

 

Price: Sold.

 

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2011523
2011523

Sold Ceramics - Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Various - Page 1

 

Object 2011523

 

Teacup and saucer

 

China

 

1760-1780

 

Height of teacup 44 mm (1.73 inch), diameter of rim 75 mm (2.95 inch), diameter of footring 35 mm (1.37 inch), weight 52 grams (1.83 ounce (oz.))

Height of saucer 29 mm (1.14 inch), diameter of rim 121 mm (4.76 inch), diameter of footring 72 mm (2.83 inch), weight 93 grams (3.28 ounce (oz.))

 

Teacup and saucer on footrings with moulded walls in the shape of lotus leaves and lobed rims. Decorated in two shades of underglaze blue, various overglaze enamels and gold with the so-called 'tobacco leaf' design with veined broad leaves intermingled with flowers, sprouting from a stem; the upper section is left free, except for a single slender flower spray. On the reverse rim two flower heads and half a flower head. The teacup is decorated en suite.

 

The term 'tobacco leaf' is widely used now, but in fact it is not the tobacco plant that is depicted here. However the leaves are possibly not those of the tobacco plant, but are as likely to be derived, possibly with some help from a European or Indian textile designer, from the 'thick tropical, variegated-leaf foliage of Southern Asia and the Pacific' while the blossoms almost certainly are hibiscus and passion fruit. Others suggest it might be anona or custard-apple. The heavy, colourful and decorative pattern, made well into the 19th century, appealed to the European public. The several varieties (at least five principal variants of the 'tobacco leaf' motif are known which include birds and figures among the leaves) enjoyed great popularity and were copied on European ceramics as well. (Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. 2, p.542, Jörg 1989/2, pp.104-105, cat. 30, Howard 1994, p.184, cat. 211, Litzenburg 2003, p.225, cat. 231)

 

For identically decorated objects, please see: 

Condition saucer: Two fleabites to the footring, three frits to the rim and an X-shaped hairline to the base.

Condition teacup: A frit with a Y-shaped hairline. three separate hairlines and a chip to the rim.

 

References:

Gordon 1977, Plate VIII

Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. 2, cat. 557

Boulay 1984, p. 279, cat. 3

Jörg 1989/2, cat. 30 

Howard 1994, cat. 211

Jörg & Van Campen 1997, p.271, cat. 315

Litzenburg 2003, cat.  231

Sargent 2012, p.151, cat. 57

 

Price: Sold.

 

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2011588
2011588

Sold Ceramics - Sold Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Various - Page 1

 

Object 2011588

 

Dish

 

China

 

c.1850 or later

 

Height 28 mm (1.38 inch), diameter of rim 141 mm (9.45 inch), diameter of footring 73 mm (4.84 inch), weight 168 grams (5.93 ounce (oz.))

 

Dish on footring, straight rim. Decorated in underglaze blue with a large displayed eagle clasping in his right talons two arrows and in his left two leafy vines, above his head a indecipherable motto inscribed upside down. The reverse, washed in a pale celadon, is undecorated. Marked on the base with a square shop mark in underglaze blue. (New York 2000, p.149)

 

This Chinese export porcelain saucer was made for the American-market, there seems good reason to suggest that this saucer may have commemorated the joining of the State of New Mexico with the Union in 1850. New Mexico was subsequently enlarged by the Gadsden Purchase in 1854 and reduced in 1863 by the detachment of what is now the State of Arizona, while in 1876 a further part was added to Colorado. It is not clear at exactly what date the present seal was adopted - certainly it was in use before the end of the nineteenth century - but it is more likely that this unusual piece could have derived from a flag of the State, or a piece of commemorative needlework. Decorated in imitation of a late seventeenth-century style. The ware is almost certainly provincial. The central eagle is very rare, but is similar to the Napoleonic eagle on coins of the period; the Mexican eagle (with leafy branch); and the Seal of New Mexico, which has two eagles (a small one below the other's wing) and the principal eagle in exactly this stance, holding in its claws three arrows. The eagle appears to be executed in the style of needlework stitches, particularly on its neck, tail and wings, and also on the flowers near the rim. The border, too, could have been copied from the binding stitching on the edge of a flag or badge. (Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. 2, p.512)

 

Interestingly, this bottle has an old original Japanese gold lacquer restoration which could indicate it was used as such in Japan. Kintsugi (金継ぎ) (Japanese: golden joinery) or Kintsukuroi (金繕い) (Japanese: golden repair) is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum, a method similar to the maki-e technique. As a philosophy it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise. (source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Kintsugi) 

 

For a similarly decorated (larger) dishes please see:

Condition: A firing flaw and a chip with a connected hairline restored with an old original Japanese gold lacquer restoration. Some fine crazing to the glaze.

 

References:

Howard & Ayers 1978, vol. 2, p.512

Mudge 2000, cat. 367

New York 2000, lot 337

MacGuire 2023, cat. 231

wikipedia.org/wiki/Kintsugi

 

Price: Sold.

 

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