CIRCA 1745

Details

A RARE DUTCH-DECORATED 'PRINS CAROL' SAUCER-DISH
Circa 1745
Enamelled in Holland with a mounted prince wearing a tricorn hat and a three-quarter length iron-red coat, a sword held in his right hand, his grisaille horse rearing as they gallop past a church in the distance, the horse's blue saddle-cloth with gilt initials P and K, the underside of the dish inscribed Prins Carol in black over the glaze in the base, rim hairline, minor frit chips
8¼ in. (21 cm.) diam.

Provenance

Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 19 March 1979, lot 113 (to Dreesmann).
Dr Anton C.R. Dreesmann (inventory no. J-43).

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

A very similar saucer-dish, possibly the pair to this one, is illustrated by Hervouët and Bruneau, La Porcelaine des Compagnies des Indes à Décor Occidental, Paris, 1986, p.389, fig.16.85, where the authors explain that according to documentation attached to the plate, the figure depicted is Charles Alexandre, Prince of Lorraine, Archduke of Austria and Governor of Holland. During the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-48), he fought on the side of the Dutch becoming a hero amongst the Dutch people. In 1744 he forced the armies of King Louis XV to turn back as they were about to enter Holland. It is most likely that this plate was made to commemorate this event. Compare also fig.16.86, a related Dutch-decorated saucer-dish in the British Museum depicting King George II, whose name is inscribed on the reverse of the dish, as in the present lot. Similarly the dish was probably ordered to commemorate his victory in the War of the Austrian Succession.

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