The Gresley-Bowyer Commission: Armorial Porcelain with a Chinese View

Chinese Export armorial porcelain dish, Arms of Pole, circa 1745 The Chinese export armorial porcelain dish is painted with pane...

Chinese export porcelain early armorial plates, Arms of Van Gellicum, Dutch Market, Kangxi period, 1710-1730. The Imari armorial plates were made for the Dutch family...

Vibrant Prosperity: A Famille Verte 'Flower Basket' Dish from the Kangxi Golden Age This magnificent Chinese Export porcelain dish, dating to the height of the Kangxi Period (c. 1700-1710), is a resplendent example of the famed famille verte (green family) palette. This enameling technique, characterized by its brilliant, translucent greens, yellows, and blues, reached its zenith under the patronage of the Kangxi Emperor, ushering in a golden age of ceramic production at the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen (Guest and Gray). Auspicious Symbolism and Design Mastery The dish is a feast of intricate design and rich symbolism, centered on an openwork beribboned basket of peony and lotus flowers. The flower basket motif is highly auspicious in Chinese art, being one of the attributes of the Daoist Immortal Lan Caihe, and symbolizes longevity and good fortune (Sotheby's, Lot 657, 2015). This meaning is powerfully reinforced by the inclusion of a central shou character (寿) in the basket, the Chinese ideograph for Longevity, a core wish in Chinese culture for a long, healthy, and prosperous life (Metropolitan Museum of Art). The presence of the shou character, often incorporated into designs for Imperial birthday celebrations during this era, underscores the dish's grand and celebratory intent. The radial design radiates outward with petal-shaped reserves in the cavetto, each containing detailed flowering plants issuing from rockwork, all set against a signature pale-green stippled ground (Dizi). The border completes the composition with an ornate pattern of green trellis-work punctuated by iron-red flower heads, alternating with oval panels containing various Precious Objects (Ba Gu), further emphasizing wealth and good fortune. This large dish, at over 14 inches in diameter, was one of the exquisite items commissioned for the European export market, particularly by the Dutch East India Company (VOC), where its vibrant colors and complex iconography were highly prized by wealthy clientele (Guest and Gray). The reverse, painted in underglaze blue with delicate floral sprays, maintains a link to the more traditional Chinese aesthetic. This piece is a tangible embodiment of the technical sophistication and artistic brilliance that made Kangxi famille verte porcelain...

The sauce dish finely painted with Mandarin figures in the central well and flowers and butterflies on the border.  

An 18th century style Chinese Export Armorial Chop Plate. With multiple hairlines. Dramatic design. Possibly Samson. Early 20th century. 13"dia., 1 1/4"h.

Nice and Beautifully painted Cantonese dish with lots of highly detailed figures, flowers and animals. Beautiful and unusual black enamel in the border. Armorial in the top centre. ...

Sharing this magnificent lovely plate from the late 19th century, with high quality painting. It’s a Fukagawa mark armorial dish with the arms of Powell. The text says; Pro patria se...

Sharing with you this large and highly unusual chinese porcelain charger. This interesting antique dish is decorated in underglaze blue and overglaze enamels including red, green, pi...