Sold Ceramics
Sold Transitional wares 1620-1683
Page 1
In this period the Chinese Imperial court reduced its orders for porcelain and the factories had to find new clients. The Dutch East India Company, (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC), was an important customer for export wares. The Company now had a trading settlement on Formosa (Taiwan) from where porcelain had been ordered in China from 1634. Besides dishes and plates made in traditional Kraak styles, pieces that were made after European models, such as candlesticks, salts or beer mugs were also delivered. Chinese shapes were very diverse, too, and included bowls, covered jars, bottles, teapots or wine ewers. A new shape was the ‘rolwagen’, a tall, slender cylindrical vase. Transitional porcelain is relatively thick, well potted, and beautifully finished with a smooth, clear glaze. The decorations in underglaze cobalt blue frequently show a continuous figurative scene in a landscape. Porcelain painters often used woodcut illustrations from Chinese books as sources for their decorations. A special feature on export wares for the VOC is the ‘tulip’ motif, probably derived from Dutch tiles. As with Kraak porcelain, the shapes and decorations of Transitional porcelain were frequently copied by Delft potters.
Sold Ceramics - Sold Transitional wares 1620-1683 - Page 1
Object 2012443
Ewer
China
1635-1645
Height with mount 218 mm (8.58 inch), height without mount 179 mm (7.05 inch), diameter 95 mm (3.74 inch), diameter of mouthrim 31 mm (1.22 inch), diameter of footring 47 mm (1.85 inch), weight 421 grams (14.85 ounce (oz.))
Ewer on footring, tall narrow curved spout joined by an S-shaped strut to the neck. Curved C-shaped handle and a splayed foot. Mounted with 19th-century Dutch silver lid (marked). Decorated in underglaze blue with a landscape with bamboo, rocks and a fence, in the middle a scholar who is holding a fan in his right hand. To his left a servant carrying a 'Qin or Gu Qin' (a musical string instrument). On the shoulder a flower scroll border and on the neck two vertical Dutch tulips with symmetrically placed leaves. Around the foot stylised lotus-petals. On the handle scattered cloud motifs. The silver marks: the sword mark was used (1814-1905) as the standard mark on articles too small for full hallmarking. What the makers mark 'I 64' stands for is unknown to me.
In ancient China, one of the 'ideal' Confucian life styles was the leisure gathering with friends with common interests. They could be music, poetry, philosophy or calligraphy. It was regarded as being noble and spiritual, besides being enjoyable The motif of a scholar who has retreated into nature for a picnic, to study scrolls, or for a spell of contemplation with his servants and/or colleagues is common for this period. (Jörg 2002/2, p.66). This particular motif is called “Carrying a qin to visit a friend” (I am indebted to Mr. S.Fan for this information)
Characteristic of this kind of export Transitional porcelain is the heavy potted body, the smooth glaze, the all-over figural decoration, and the 'tulip' motif on the neck. Besides bowls and dishes made in traditional kraak style, new shapes, decorations and combinations of traditional motifs emerged and the wares made in this period are quite extraordinary in their creativeness, freedom and variety. (Jörg 1984, p.14) & (Jörg 2011/1, p.123)
Ewers such as these were made especially for the VOC (Dutch East India Company, 1602–1799) as well as for Dutch private traders. During the period of this ewer (1630-1645) the VOC ordered Chinese porcelain through the Company's factory on Formosa (Taiwan). This shape had already been part of the Chinese assortment for a very long time, dating back to the 14th century. The high foot and the curved spout connected to the neck indicate that this shape was originally based on an Islamic model. (Jörg 2011/1, pp.170-171, cat. 53).
For three examples of these early ewers, please see:
The ewers were supplied without lids. Sometimes a mount was attached in the Netherlands, usually soon after arrival.
For identically shaped and decorated ewers, please see:
- Chinese export porcelain. Chine de Commande, (D.F. Lunsingh Scheurleer, London 1974), cat. 42.
- Chinesisches und japanisches Porzellan in europäischen Fassungen, ( D.F. Lunsingh Scheurleer, Verlag Klinkhardt & Biermann, Braunschweig,1980), p.211, Abb. 85 - 89.
- Japanese porcelain. A collector's guide to general aspects and decorative motifs, (P.L.W. Arts, Lochem 1983), p.40, Plate 10a.
- Ceramics crossed overseas. Jingdezhen, Imari and Delft from the Collection of the Groninger Museum, (C.J.A. Jörg et al., Tokyo, 1999), p.92, cat. 122-123.
- Austrumu porcellans un Niderlande. Austrumu un Rietumu mijiedarbiba 17. gadsimta / Oriental Porcelain and the Netherlands. Interaction between East and West in the 17th century, (C.J.A. Jörg, Art Museum Riga Bourse, Riga, 2011), pp. 170-171, cat. 53.
The provenance of this ewer is quite interesting. The current owner has told me that her great grandparents owned an apothecary in Leeuwarden, named the “Vergulde Cath” (literally: “gilded cat”). Records show that this name was already in use for this old townhouse from as early as 1654. The old commemorative stone on the façade, probably dating from around the same period, appropriately shows a gilded cat.
“Vergulde cath”, Groentemarkt 1, Leeuwarden, c. 1955
A note was found amongst the belongings of the owner’s great grandparents, indicating that this ewer was a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Zeller. A sister of her grandmother also owned a pair of ballet shoes of Grietje Zeller, another indication of the long lasting friendship between the two families. Margaretha Geertruida (Grietje) Zelle (1876-1917) grew up in Leeuwarden until her parents divorced in 1889. Later on she became better known as the famous Dutch dancer/spy Mata Hari.
Mata Hari, byname of Margaretha Geertruida (Grietje) MacLeod, née Zelle (born August 7, 1876, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands - died October 15, 1917, Vincennes, near Paris, France), was a dancer and courtesan whose name has become a synonym for the seductive female spy. She was shot by the French on charges of spying for Germany during World War I. The nature and extent of her espionage activities remain uncertain, and her guilt is widely contested.
Mata Hari
The daughter of a prosperous hatter, she attended a teachers’ college in Leiden. In 1895 she married an officer of Scottish origin, Capt. Rudolph MacLeod, in the Dutch colonial army, and from 1897 to 1902 they lived in Java and Sumatra. The couple returned to Europe but later separated, and she began to dance professionally in Paris in 1905 under the name of Lady MacLeod. She soon called herself Mata Hari, a Malay expression for the sun (literally, “eye of the day”). She and MacLeod divorced in 1906. Tall, extremely attractive, superficially acquainted with East Indian dances, and willing to appear virtually nude in public, Mata Hari was an instant success in Paris and other large cities. Throughout her life she had numerous lovers, many of them military officers.
The facts regarding her espionage activities remain obscure. According to one account, in the spring of 1916, while she was living in The Hague, a German consul is said to have offered to pay her for whatever information she could obtain on her next trip to France. After her arrest by the French, she acknowledged only that she had given some outdated information to a German intelligence officer.
According to statements that Mata Hari supposedly made, she had agreed to act as a French spy in German-occupied Belgium and did not bother to tell French intelligence of her prior arrangement with the Germans. She had intended to secure for the Allies the assistance of Ernest Augustus, duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg in Germany and heir to the dukedom of Cumberland in the British peerage.
The French began to suspect her of duplicity, and on Feb. 13, 1917, she was arrested in Paris. She was imprisoned, tried by a military court on July 24–25, 1917, sentenced to death, and shot by a firing squad.
The German government publicly exculpated her in 1930, and the French dossier documenting her activities reportedly indicated her innocence. Viewed by only a few people, the dossier was scheduled for public release in 2017.
Condition: A frit to the underside of the tip of the spout. A firing tension hairline to the S-shaped strut. Some frits and fleabites to the mouthrim and a re-stuck handle.
References:
Lunsingh Scheurleer 1974, cat. 42
Lunsingh Scheurleer 1980, Abb. 78a
Carswell 2000, cat. 77,103 & 137
Price: Sold.
Sold Ceramics - Sold Transitional wares 1620-1683 - Page 1
Object 2011679
Ewer
China
1635-1645
Height 205 mm (8.07 inch), diameter 129 mm (5.08 inch), diameter of mouthrim 28 mm (1.10 inch), diameter of footring 73 mm (2.87 inch), weight 966 grams (34.08 ounce (oz.))
Ewer on footring, the neck ending in a short triangular spout. Curved C-shaped handle pierced at the top for a mount. The shallow conical base is glazed. Decorated in underglaze blue with a fenced garden with maple trees, precipitous rocks enveloped by billowing clouds and a resting scholar holding a fan in his right hand. To his left two servants, one holding books, the other a covered dish (?). Round the shoulder a flower scroll border and on the neck two vertical Dutch tulips with symmetrically placed leaves. Round the bottom of the body a stylised lotus-petals border and round the foot a flower scroll border. On the handle a flower spray with cloud motifs.
In the period (1630-1645) the VOC (Dutch East India Company, 1602–1799) ordered Chinese porcelain through the Company's factory on Formosa (Taiwan). Besides bowls and dishes made in traditional kraak style, new shapes (like this ewer made after European models), decorations and combinations of traditional motifs emerged and the wares made in this period are quite extraordinary in their creativeness, freedom and variety. (Jörg 1984, p.14), (Jörg 2011/1, p.123)
Such ewers after a European (German stoneware) model were made especially for the VOC (Dutch East India Company, 1602–1799) as well as for the Dutch private traders. As they were supplied without lids, a mount could be attached in the Netherlands, Characteristic of this export Transitional porcelain is the heavy potted body, the smooth glaze, the all-over figural decoration, and the 'tulip' motif on the neck. The motif of a scholar who has retreated into nature for a picnic, to study scrolls, or for a spell of contemplation with his servants and or colleagues is common for this period. (Jörg 2002/2, p.66)
For a similarly shaped and decorated Japanese Arita ewer, please see:
For a similarly shaped and decorated Dutch (Delft) ewer, please see:
For identically shaped and decorated ewers, please see:
- Het Chinese porselein in de collectie Frits Lugt / The Frits Lugt collection of Chinese porcelains, (D.F. Lunsingh Scheurleer in Mededelingenblad Nederlandse Vereniging van Vrienden van de Ceramiek, vols. 103/104, Lochem 1981), pp.62-63, cat. 65.
- Jan Menze van Diepen Stichting. Selectie uit de collectie Oosterse keramiek. (Jan Menze van Diepen Foundation. A Selection from the Collection of Oriental Ceramics), (C.J.A. Jörg, Slochteren, 2002), pp.66-67, cat. 39.
For identically shaped or similarly decorated Transitional objects, please see:
- Chinese export porcelain. Chine de Commande, (D.F. Lunsingh Scheurleer, London 1974), cat. 40 & 42.
- Chinesisches und japanisches Porzellan in europäischen Fassungen, ( D.F. Lunsingh Scheurleer, Verlag Klinkhardt & Biermann, Braunschweig,1980), p.207, Abb. 78a.
- 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.60, cat. 143.
- Japanese porcelain. A collector's guide to general aspects and decorative motifs, (P.L.W. Arts, Lochem 1983), p.41, Plate 11a.
- Interaction in Ceramics. Oriental porcelain and Delftware. (C.J.A. Jörg, Hong Kong, 1984), pp.58-59, cat. 16.
- The Choice of the Private Trader. The Private Market in Chinese Export Porcelain illustrated from the Hodroff Collection, (D.S. Howard, Zwemmer, London, 1994), p.208, cat. 243.
- Austrumu porcellans un Niderlande. Austrumu un Rietumu mijiedarbiba 17. gadsimta / Oriental Porcelain and the Netherlands. Interaction between East and West in the 17th century, (C.J.A. Jörg, Art Museum Riga Bourse, Riga, 2011), pp. 176-177, cat. 56.
Condition: A firing flaw to the footring and two old restorations to the rim and the underside of the attachment of the handle with some scratches to the glaze.
References:
Lunsingh Scheurleer 1974, cat. 40 & 42
Lunsingh Scheurleer 1980, Abb. 78a
Lunsingh Scheurleer 1981, cat. 65
Price: Sold.
Sold Ceramics - Sold Transitional wares 1620-1683 - Page 1
Object 2012108
Mustard pot
China
c.1635-1645
Height 106 mm (4.17 inch), diameter mouthrim 50 mm (1.97 inch), diameter of footring 55 mm (2.17 inch), weight 243 grams (8.57 ounce (oz.)).
Mustard pot of hexagonal ribbed and ovoid form with a pedestal foot and a sunked in base. Curved C-shaped handle. Wide mouth with glazed rim for cover, now missing. Decorated in underglaze blue with single flower sprays, bamboo and flowering, prunus, irises, lotus and aster plants. Around the foot a descending lotus leaves pattern border, on the handle cloud motifs.
In 1644, the Ming dynasty was replaced by the Qing dynasty, which was preceded by a transitional period. This gave rise to the name 'transitional porcelain'. A typical feature of this transitional porcelain is that the decoration extends over the entire object. Elegant flower sprays applied as scattered decorative elements that do not seem to form a composite whole typify mid-17th century transitional porcelain. (Jörg 2002/2, p.70)
Mustard pots were ordered by the Dutch East India Company, (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC), as early as 1608. From 1625 onward, the VOC had a trading post on Formosa (present-day Taiwan). Chinese junk seafarers soon made regular trips to Formosa with a large assortment of Chinese goods. The VOC could now order products that were in demand in the Netherlands, such as salts, jugs with spouts, terrines and suchlike, with a Dutch form. This mustard pot was also part of this product line. Volker reports that in 1639 the VOC ordered 200 mustard pots of which half are to be 'ribbed as sample' and illustrates one of this form. A number of such mustard pots of exactly this design were in the cargo of a Chinese junk salvaged in 1983 by Captain Michael Hatcher and sold in Amsterdam in 1984, which also contained (unrelated) pieces with the cyclical date for 1643. Throughout the 17th century the VOC continued to order mustard pots in large quantities of up to a thousand at a time. (Howard 1994, p.129)
Just like salt, mustard was once an important taste-inducing additive on the dinner table, though it had less status because it was locally made. Still the luxurious mustard pots made of Chinese or Japanese 17th century porcelain were quite large. Mustard used to have to be stirred before use, which is why mustard pots often had a little opening in their lids for a small stirring stick. Sometimes such a pot was fitted with a new nice silver lid, which lacked an opening. A tiny piece of pottery was then broken out of the rim, in order to allow the stirring stick or spoon to fit in.
For identically and similarly shaped mustard pot, please see:
- Porcelain and the Dutch East India Company, as recorded in the Dagh-registers of Batavia castle, those of Hirado and Deshima and other contemporary papers 1602-1682, (T. Volker, Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, E.J. Brill, Leiden 1954, reprint 1971), Pl. XII, cat. 20.
- Fine and Important Late Ming and Transitional Porcelain, recently recovered from an Asian vessel in the South China Sea. The Property of Captain Michael Hatcher. Auction catalogue Christie’s Amsterdam, 14 March 1984, p.38, lot numbers 104-105.
- The Hatcher Porcelain Cargoes. The Complete Record, (C. Sheaf & R. Kilburn, Oxford 1988), p.71, Pl.110.
- The Choice of the Private Trader. The Private Market in Chinese Export Porcelain illustrated from the Hodroff Collection, (D.S. Howard, Zwemmer, London, 1994), p.129, cat. 132.
Condition: A firing flaw to the inner footring, some chipped of glaze flakes to the handle and some glaze rough spots to the mouthrim caused by the cover, now missing.
References:
Volker 1954, reprint 1971, Pl. XII, cat. 20
Price: Sold.
Sold Ceramics - Sold Transitional wares 1620-1683 - Page 1
Object 2011801
Bowl
China
1630-1645
Height 63 mm (2.48 inch), diameter of rim 110 mm (4.33 inch), diameter of footring 43 mm (1.69 inch), weight 127 grams (4.47 ounce (oz.))
Octagonal bowl on footring, spreading rim. Decorated in underglaze blue with river scenes alternating with a figure in a landscape.
Octagonal bowls of this type are common in Dutch collections. An identical bowl fitted with two handles is in the collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam and in the 1668 inventory of Amalia van Solms the widow of Stadholder Frederick Henry there is mention of Twee achtcantige kopkens met oirkens, 'two octagonal bowls with handles'. which may refer to this type (Jörg & Van Campen 1997, p.83), for this bowl please see:
For identically shaped and decorated bowls, please see:
Similarly shaped, sized and decorated octagonal bowls were salvaged from the wreck of the Hatcher junk which sank c.1643, please see:
Condition: A star-shaped hairline to the wall.
References:
Jörg & Van Campen 1997, cat. 71
Staatliche Schlöser und Gärten 1998, Kat. Nr. 34
Price: Sold.
Sold Ceramics - Sold Transitional wares 1620-1683- Page 1
Object 2011436
Dish
China
1635-1645
Height 50 mm (1.97 inch), diameter of rim 272 mm (10.71 inch), diameter of footring 141 mm (5.55 inch), weight 628 grams (22.15 ounce (oz.))
Dish on footring with a flat rim. Kiln sand adhering to the base. Decorated in underglaze blue with a figure seated in a garden landscape surrounded by overlapping petals. On the sides and rim eight large and eight narrow panels. The narrow panels are decorated with Dutch flowers, most likely tulips, four large panels are filled with a figure in a landscape, the other four large panels are filled with Dutch flowers. The reverse has four cartouches with flower sprays and four small panels filled with bamboo.
This dish can be classified as a border IX dish. This border is divided by straight lines which form sections varying in number and size. there can be as many as eight large panels divided by eight narrow ones. The peculiarity of this border is that it blends typical Chinese kraak panelled borders with Transitional style motifs, such as descriptive scenes with people in a landscape and a number of flowers peculiar to these wares. These are usually refferred to as tulips, yet many varieties of flowers are depicted: carnations, a small double-petalled round flower and broad, very stylized flowers with stiff leaves in pairs, almost an armorial flower, which does not reprersent a tulip at all. Jörg suggest that perhaps these are 'Dutch flowers' a description of which he found on a VOC document dated 1639 sent from Batavia to Fort Zeeland in Formosa requesting the Dutch merchants there to buy wares painted with 'Dutch flowers'. While the so-called 'Dutch-flowers' are difficult to trace, the tulip, carnation and small round-pettaled flowers are all typical of Iznik wares on which they were painted from the middle of the sixteenth century. Records of the VOC show that the Dutch were primarily interested in obtaining good quality porcelain. They never interfered in the choice of decoration until 1635, when they gave the Chinese dealers a design to be copied. Volker thinks 'that it is as good as certain that the first transitional ware was made after those models in 1635, and that it was exported for the first time in 1636' (Volker 1971, p.60). Figures-in-a-landscape is the principal motif which appears in the centre medaillion. Contrary to earlier depictions of human figures which often represent mythological or historical characters in passive attitudes or scholars in contemplative postures, here the figures offer a very strong narrative element, being represented while talking, walking or working, always doing something. (Rinaldi 1989, pp.113-115)
In order to make the traditional kraak ware more attractive and competitive, the tulip and narrative scenes with figures of Transitional porcelain were also painted on bowls and dishes which otherwise have the typical kraak body and style of painting. (Jörg & Van Campen 1997, p.60, cat. 41)
Condition: Professionally restored.
References:
Jörg & Van Campen 1997, cat. 41
Price: Sold.
Sold Ceramics - Sold Transitional wares 1620-1683 - Page 1
Object 2010925
Vase
China
1635-1645
Height 197 mm (7.76 inch), diameter of mouthrim 35 mm (1.38 inch), diameter of footring 52 mm (2.05 inch), weight 348 grams (12.28 ounce (oz.))
Vase on a high footring, pear-shaped body cylindrical neck with slightly everted rim. Decorated in underglaze blue with two cranes, One is in flight and the other crane is standing beside pierced rockwork with flowering aster and bamboo plants. On the shoulder a band with flower scrolls, on the neck a large flower spray. To the base an old square paper collectors label with the text ´N56´ and ´a´. The addition of the ´a´ most likely points out that this vase was once part of a set.
Transitional ware was named after the changes that took place in the political sphere in China after the death of the Emperor Wanli (1619), which ultimately led to the fall of the Ming and the establishment of the Qing Dynasty (1644). With the introduction of new forms new types of decoration came in as well. On tall pieces like bottles and vases in particular the main part of the body is no longer divided into panels, but the entire areas is used for a continuous scene. The scenes are often framed above and below by a decorative band of floral scrolls. Technically too, this porcelain is obviously different from Kraakporselein. It is thicker, carefully made and seldom or never distorted in firing. The glaze is particularly fine, smooth, hard and devoid of unevenness of blemishes. (Jörg 1984, p.14)
The crane is an auspicious symbol of longevity and a blessed life, a pair of cranes of a long and happy marriage. (Jörg 2003/1, p.185) The thick body, the shape, the free and finely painted design and the clear glaze make this vase a fine example Transitional ware dating from the 2nd quarter of the 17th century.
For a identically decorated vase, please see:
Condition: A restored neck and a hairline to the body.
References:
Price: Sold.
Sold Ceramics - Sold Transitional wares 1620-1683 - Page 1
Object 2010340
Bowl
China
1625-1650
Height 50 mm (1.97 inch), diameter of rim 90 mm (3.54 inch), diameter of footring 33 mm (1.30 inch)
Small bowl on a footring with an everted rim with an unglazed base. Decorated in underglaze blue. The sides open-worked in a cash (coin) pattern with five reserved roundels decorated with landscapes and flowers. Around the rim a small trellis pattern border, on the foot a petal-panel border.
Bowls of this type, with sides partly or completely pierced, are mentioned in the Dutch East India Company, (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC) records of 1643-1646 as 'half doorluchtige or doorluchtige', 'semi translucent' or 'translucent' bowls, but were also made before that time and first appeared during the Wanli period (1573-1619). Apart from bowls and tazzas, the technique rarely occurs on other export forms in the 17th century. The Chinese call it linglong, "delicate openwork", while it is also known as 'plique-à-jour' or 'devil's work' because of the great skill and patience the work demanded. (Jörg & Van Campen 1997, nr. 71)
Bowls with this particular form, size and decoration were also found in the Hatcher Junk, c.1643. The wreck of a Chinese junk discovered by Captain Michael Hatcher in the South China Sea in the early 1980's. It has been proved that practically the whole cargo, consisting mostly of blue and white, was made around 1643, as proven by several pieces dated 1643.
For an identically shaped and decorated bowls, please see:
- Fine and Important Late Ming and Transitional Porcelain, recently recovered from an Asian vessel in the South China Sea. The Property of Captain Michael Hatcher. Auction catalogue Christie’s Amsterdam, 14 March 1984, p.38, lot numbers 195-196.
- Fine and Important Late Ming and Transitional Porcelain, The second and finial part of the Hatcher Collection, recently recovered from an Asian vessel in the South China Sea, auction catalogue Christie’s Amsterdam, 12 & 13 June 1984, p.62, lot number 711.
- The Hatcher Porcelain Cargoes. The Complete Record, (C. Sheaf & R. Kilburn, Oxford 1988), pp.70-71, Pl.110.
- Chinese Ceramics in the Collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, The Ming and Qing Dynasties, (C.J.A. Jörg in collaboration with J. van Campen, Philip Wilson in association with The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, London 1997), p.82, cat. 71.
- Collecting Chinese and Japanese Porcelain in Pre-Revolutionary Paris, (S. Castelluccio, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles 2013), p.102 Fig. 84.
Condition: Five minuscule fleabites to the underside of the rim.
References:
Amsterdam 1984, lot numbers 195 & 196
Amsterdam 1984, lot numbers 711
Jörg & Van Campen 1997, nr. 71
Price: Sold.
create websites