Description:
One of two Chinese export porcelain soup plates decorated in a version of the Chinese Imari palette of red, blue, and gold with Famille verte green, black, and brown. In the 1650s, civil disturbances interrupted porcelain production at Jingdezhen and also disrupted the East/West porcelain trade for more than 30 years. With Chinese rulers forbidding trade in porcelain, the Western market for porcelain wares went to Japanese potteries. First developed by Japanese enamelers in the 17th century, the Imari palette combined underglaze blue enamel with overglaze red and gilding. Although this ware was made at the kilns at Arita, the name “Imari” comes from a Japanese trading port used by the Dutch. Its popularity in the marketplace was unparalleled, spawning imitations in both fine porcelain and cheaper earthenware. When the Chinese porcelain kilns reopened in 1683, China attempted to regain its lost share of the export porcelain market, and began producing Imari wares toward the end of the 17th century in an effort to compete with Japanese porcelain. Chinese Imari decoration was based on the established Japanese palette, but initially relied on Chinese designs. The wide rim has two alternating thinly-painted or 'pencil style' underglaze blue sprays of prunus flowers and phoenixes; one phoenix is overpainted with the motto scroll "LOVE.AND.DREAD" in black and gold over black and a gold griffin with red nails and tongue. The motto and crest, "A griffin per pale or and ermine" are those of Tower of Weald Hall in Essex. The Tower family are known to have ordered five different services of Chinese armorial porcelains between 1720 and 1730; the style of painting the griffin with open claw forward is only used on this service and the circa 1720 service. David Howard has speculated that the simpler services, decorated with only the motto and not the full arms, served for everyday use or perhaps use in the servants’ hall, while the more elaborate services were reserved for special occasions and display. This service was ordered by Christopher Tower (1657-1728), whose first wife (m. 1691) was Elizabeth Hale of New Windsor, Berkshire, and the second, Frances Proctor, widow of C. Hanbury. His sons, Christopher (1692-1771) and Thomas (169?-1778), both joint Auditors of His Majesty's Revenue and MP's, and Thomas Trustee of the Colony of Georgia, ordered services circa 1728 and 1730. The rim has a gilt and iron-red wave pattern between two blue bands; the underside has blue branches and red flowers; and the rim edge is brown. The center well has a green, black, brown, and iron-red bird perched on a blue branch with red chrysanthemums and buds looking at an iron-red butterfly on the right. The curvature has blue chrysanthemum diaperwork alternating with four cloud cartouches with iron-red flowering branches and floral sprigs and butterflies with gilt details. The base has a modern label, "Cecil H. Bullivant Collection No. 6"; a plate from the same set and collection is shown in David Sanctuary Howard's "Chinese Armorial Porcelain", Vol. I, D5, and Howard dedicated this volume to Bullivant.
Subjects:
Pottery; Enamel and enameling; glaze (coating by location); polychrome; Porcelain Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+62.199A |
