CIRCA 1765

Details

A FAMILLE ROSE AND GRISAILLE-DECORATED 'DANBY GATE' PLATE
Circa 1765
Decorated at the centre en grisaille with a view of the main entrance to the botanical gardens at Oxford, the elaborate gatehouse with inscription and date, and a figure in the foreground holding a caduceus accompanied by a goat and dog, all below gilt spearheads in the well and enamelled floral sprigs at the border, underside chip, rim flake restuck
9 in. (23 cm.) diam.

Provenance

Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 19 March 1979, lot 107 (to Dreesmann).
Dr Anton C.R. Dreesmann (inventory no. J-42).

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

This design is taken from an engraving copying the frontispiece to a poem by Abel Evans entitled Vertumnus, An Epistle to Mr. Jacob Bobart, Botany Professor to the University of Oxford, and Keeper of the Physic-Garden, published in Oxford in 1713. The gardens were founded in 1621 by Henry Lord Danvers, later created Earl of Danby. The figure depicted on the plate is Jacob Bobart, the first Keeper of the Garden, who used to be seen walking with his dog and pet goat. For a discussion on the Garden, its architecture and history, see B.D.H. Miller, 'Oxford in Chinese Export Ware', Oriental Art, Summer 1966, vol. XII, no.2. Similar plates are in the Metropolitan Museum and in the Rijksmuseum.

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