Chinese verte-imari Governor Duff plate, Yongzheng, circa 1725-30,

Chinese verte-imari ‘Governor Duff’ plate, Yongzheng, circa 1725-30, decorated in the centre with a Dutchman and his wife strolling in a fenced garden accompanied by their dog, amongst foliage and flowers with the bough of a broad-leafed tree overhead, within a double blue circle, the cavetto and rim with four sections of flowers in gilt and iron red amongst underglaze blue foliage, interspersed by assortments of the hundred antiques and fruits, including vessels of archaic form, ruyi-head sceptres, scrolls and feathers as well as peach, pomegranate and buddha's hand citron, the outer rim with a narrow band of gilt diaper against a blue ground, the reverse with two floral branches

Diameter: 23.3cm. (9 1/4 in.)

Condition: Filled chip to rim with associated hairline.

This design is associated with Diederik Durven ('Duff'), as it is thought to represent the Dutchman by that name who was Governor General of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) between 1729-31. A print source has not yet been identified and it has also been suggested that the couple could represent Louis XIV and Mme de Montespan, but the couple's clothing is more indicative of a Dutch subject. There is a similar example in the Rijksmuseum, illuistrated in D.F. Lunsingh Scheurleer, ‘Chinese Export Porcelain’, London, p. 137, fig. 203; for a similar example see D.S. Howard, ‘The Choice of the Private Trader’, p. 62, pl. 37 and William Sargent, ‘Treasures of Chinese Export Ceramics’, p. 193, no. 91. Meanwhile, the European subject matter is combined with more traditional Chinese motifs: the hundred antiques are a collection of symbolic items combining scholarly objects with auspicious Buddhist emblems. The motif became popular from the beginning of the Kangxi period due to its association with the gentleman collector, good taste and learning. Here they are combined with fruits with their own symbolism; peaches are connected with the Daoist immortals, the seeds of pomegranates were said to represent a good number of healthy children in a marriage, and this particular type of citron, owing to its unusual shape, was commonly known as 'Buddha's hand' and was also considered highly auspicious.

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Price on application

This object is eligible for a Certificate of BADA Provenance

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