CHENGHUA SIX CHARACTER MARK, KANGXI

Details

A blue and white 'Rotterdam Riot' plate
Chenghua six character mark, Kangxi
The centre painted with a scene after a silver medal by Jan Schmelzing showing the attack on the residence of Van Zuylen van Nijevelt, chief bailiff of Rotterdam, some figures dismantling beams and masonry, others scaling ladders or spilling bales of merchandise into the street near a cannon, the rim with floral cartouches on a diaper-pattern ground, the reverse with a lotus scroll and swastika
20 cm. diam

Special notice

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Lot Essay

This plate depicts the demolition of the house belonging to the Chief Baillif, Jacob Zuylen van Nyevelt, on 4 October 1690, during the riots in Rotterdam, which were sparked off after the brutal execution of Cornelis Kosterman, a young guard at the City Hall, who the townspeople believed was innocent. The design derives from a medal struck in silver by Jan Schmeltzing after an engraving by Gerard van Loon to commemorate the riots. Similar plates are in the British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum, the Princessehof Museum, Leeuwarden, and the Museum Boymans van Beuningen.

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