QIANLONG 1736 – 1795 Chinese Export Porcelain

Information

`Neptune` A Chinese Export Subject :
After an etching, which might contain some engraving, called `The Realm of Neptune` by Frederick Bloemaert (c.1610-c.1669) completed between 1650-1656, after a drawing by his father Abraham Bloemaert (1566–1651). This is a Baroque design is only executed in Blue and White on Chinese Porcelain, it occurs on fine grained porcelain and Chinese soft-paste porcelain. Both dinner services and tea services were produced, it appears that the teaware wares are soft-paste porcelain.

References :
For a dish of this Chinese blue and white design dated to c.1740-1750 see : Chinese Porcelain in the Collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, The Ming and Qing Dynasties (Christiaan Jorg, Phillip Wilson, The Rijksmuseum, 1997) page 277, plate 321. Jorg states "The depiction of Neptune, the God of the Sea of classical mythology occurs in several varieties on Chine de commande from the 1740`s onwards. How well the design sold is illustrated by an order from 1778, when they sent a chocolate cup with this design as a model for similarly decorated plates. However, the Dutch merchants in Canton refused to have them made as "all that is European painting or figures costs twice as much as Chinese". The present example proves that at least one tea and coffee service was made in Famille Rose enamels.
For a blue and white porcelain bowl, cover and stand with this design dated to c.1765 see : Chinese Export Porcelain in the Reeves Center Collection at Washington and Lee University (Thomas V.Litzenburg Jr. Third Millennium Publishing London 2003. ISBN 1-903942-1-9-5) page 196, plate 195.
A pair of plates of this design are illustrated in : Fine Chinese Export Porcelain, Christie`s London 11th and 12th of November 1985, lot 303.