Chinese Export Porcelain Blue Fitzhugh Oval Platter and Mazarin

Pair of Chinese Export 'Pronk' Blue and White Plates after Maria Sibylla Merian For the Dutch Market, Qianlong Period, Circa 1740-1745 This rare and historically significant pair o...

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...

Dutch Delft Large Dish with Chinoiserie Dragon Design A superb large-format Dutch Delft circular dish, dating to circa 1700. This highly decorative...

The 18th Century First Period Worcester porcelain botanical kidney-shaped dish has a blue-scale ground with four large shaped panels and four smaller vase-shaped panels on the rim, all finely painted with flowers. The vase-form panels each have a single flower while the larger panels are painted with an assortment of flowers, each has a distinctive long stemmed flower...

Sharing with you this very nice edo period, 1680-1710, example in perfect condition. With a garden floral scene and the border also has small Foo dogs/Qilin. Unmarked at the base. A...

An excellent, shallow and large serving dish, exceptionally finely painted in underglaze blue with central reserve of an island village with pagodes, palm trees and fishermen. Furthe...

Antique Plate 18th Century Chinese Porcelain Blue and White Plate Qianlong Period. A very nicely decorated plate with flowers. Additional information: Material: Porcelain & Pottery...

A fine antique Chinese Export porcelain serving bowl or fruit bowl. In the Canton pattern. Decorated in underglaze blue with a mountainous Chinese village with houses, mountains, f...