Three grisaille and gilt decorated 'religious' plates

CIRCA 1740

Details

Three grisaille and gilt decorated 'religious' plates
Circa 1740
Each painted en grisaille and gilt with a different religious subjectmatter, one showing 'The Nativity' with Joseph, Maria, the Three Kings and the Shepherds surrounding the newborn Child in the manger; the second with 'The Crucifixion' depicting Christ on the cross between two thieves and surrounded by mourners, in the foreground centurions casting dice; and 'The Resurrection' with the figure of Christ enveloped by clouds and an angel at his feet while five soldiers sleep on the ground, the first two surrounded with a border of flowers and fruiting branches entwined with strapwork, the third with a band of scalework issuing foliate scrolls and cornucopias, one with rim crack and some rubbing
22.6 cm. diam. (3)

Lot Essay

A series of biblical plates, both en grisaille and, more rarely, enamelled with various borders, are recorded; besides the above three subjectmatters, the series includes 'The Descent from the Cross' and 'The Ascension'. Dr. Christiaan Jörg has recently discovered the print source for these designs: they are after engravings by the Amsterdam engraver Jan Luiken (1649-1712) and were included in a Lutheran Bible printed at the beginning of the 18th Century, together with the portrait of Martin Luther, which is also copied on Chinese export porcelain. Dr. Jörg suggests that this series of biblical plates and dishes were ordered for the Dutch market, and intended for use on the four Christian feast days. For a further discussion on the series, and examples from the Mottahedeh Collection, see D.S. Howard and J. Ayers, China for the West, 1978, vol. I, pp. 318-320. A similar plate to the present lot is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Helena Woolworth McCann Collection, illustrated by J.G. Philips, China Trade Porcelain, 1960, pl. 8 in colour.

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