A Very Rare English Trasfer Printed Chinese Porcelain Teabowl and Matching Worcester Porcelain Saucer c.1754 – 1755
A very rare 18th century Chinese saucer with an transfer printed design by Robert Hancock probably after an engraving by Jacques Philippe Le Bas (Paris 1707–1783) after Francois Boucher’s ‘Pensent-ils au Raisin’ (François Boucher, Paris 1703–1770 Paris). The teabowl is Worcester c.1754-1755, the Chinese saucer is c.1750-1755. The transfer-prints on the porcelain also occur on metal enamel boxes and plaques, so it is quite possible that both pieces were decorated in Birmingham, a major center of enamel production in 18th century England.
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- Condition
- The Worcester teabowl ; this has a minute rim chip, mostly glaze c.2 x 2 mm. There is some kiln grit around the rim. The Qianlong saucer is badly damaged. It has been broken in half, with an associated triple section that has been restuck. It has been carefully and sensitively repaired.
- Size
- Diameter of the teabowl : 7.4cm (3 inches).
- Provenance
- Norman Stretton Collection (labels to the teabowl and the saucer). Sold at Philips 21st February 2001(Norman Stretton Collection). The Helen Espir Collection of European Decorated Chinese Export Porcelain : "a member of the Oriental Ceramic Society and collector, with her husband. Having made a typical collection of Song and provincial Ming blue and white, they decided to concentrate on what used to be called `clobbered` porcelain. She is the author of the standard work on the subject, European Decoration on Oriental Porcelain,2005, the first to examine the work of European decorators on Chinese porcelain throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, focusing on enamellers in Holland, Germany and England. She has learned Chinese." From Provenance ; Collectors, Dealers & Scholars : Chinese Ceramics in Britain & America (Roy Davids, Dominic Jellinek, Privately Printed, 2011. ISBN 978-0-9570148-0-0).
- Stock number
- 24579
- References
- This teabowl and saucer is illustrated in : European Decoration on European Porcelain 1700 – 1830 (Helen Espir, Jorge Welsh Books, 2005) page 237 plate 40 and it is also illustrated in : The Early James Giles and his Contemporary London Decorators (Stephen Hanscombe, Stockspring Antiques. 2008) page 150, plate 151.
Information
Jacques Philippe Le Bas after Francois Boucher
Etching and engraving 35.8 x 46 cm
'Pensent-ils au Raisin'
English transfer decorated Chinese export porcelain is one of the rarest groups of over-decorated porcelain.
Rare English Transfer and Enamel Decorated Yongzheng Mark and Period Teabowl 1723-1735. The White Porcelain Teabowl with a Six Character Minyao (None-Imperial) Mark and of the Period 1723-1735. The English Transfer Print and Enamel c.1755-1758, Probably Decorated in the Midlands. The Scene Depicted is of a Rustic Landscape with a Shepard Casually Watching His Flock While Seated Under a Tree.
It is interesting to note that this early print has not been found on English porcelain, the addition of enamel is also highly unusual. The form of the teabowl as well as the quality of the paste point to the porcelain being the same as the mark. None-Imperial Kangxi mark and period porcelain is common but large numbers of none-imperial Yongzheng mark and period also exist. Pieces with four character Yongzheng marks were recovered from the `Ca Mau Cargo`.
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