Lot Essay
Cornelis Pronk, who was a painter, designer and draughtsman, was appointed in August 1743, at the age of fourty-three, to 'make all the designs and models to our satisfaction, of all such porcelain as will be ordered from time to time in the Indies,...' The volume of his known work is small. In fact it is possible to find only two drawings which are attributed with good reason to Pronk or his studio. Both are at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam - namely designs known as 'la Dame au Parasol' and 'The Doctor's Visit to the Emperor'. cf. Howard and Ayers, op.cit., p. 293; and C.J.A.Jorg, 'Pronk Porcelain', p.73