Lot Essay
The mug is the only known example of such sample wares, intended to demonstrate the range of order patterns, styles of inscription and simple decorative elements which could be incorporated into specific orders, by Westerners sending out commissions to Jingdezhen through supercargoes and trading agents on East India Company ships. Plates are rare, bowls are extremely rare. This tankard appears to be the only extant memento of the fascinating way in which Chinese potters could reflect emergent taste in Europe, by incorporating such elements in neo-classical taste, onto more conventional Chinese export wares. See M. Beurdeley, op.cit., p.198, cat.208 for a 'sample' plate in the Göteborg Museum, Sweden, also illustrated by S. T. Kjellberg, Svenska Ostindiska Compagnierna 1731-1813, colour plate opp. p.241.