Saucer, Qianlong c.1755, with Chinese scene and a European cypher
Saucer, c.1755, finely potted and painted, with a scene of a Chinese couple taking refreshment on a terrace in a mountainous landscape, the lady holding a flower in her hand.
This saucer does not bear an armorial but is nevertheless personalised by an elaborate gold cypher. The scene correlates with Style K6 in Chinese Armorial Porcelain, where 15 armorial services of the decade c.1745-55 bear similar domestic scenes, with just two of these services having an identical scene with the same couple. These are ’Woolf or Fermor’ (the attribution uncertain) and Horner, both illustrated together on p.225 of Volume II. The latter is a particularly charming and imaginative rendition of the scene with the arms of Horner depicted as a bird’s nest hanging from the tree with a bird flying above. See 4th image here for the Horner saucer (for reference only, not for sale).
The owner of this saucer will probably never be known, but it nevertheless provides a delightful reminder of the interaction between east and west.
Reference : Chinese Armorial Porcelain Style K6 in both volumes for other services with Chinese scenes.
Condition : Short fine hairline consolidated and invisible.
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