cup BM-Franks.1441

Period:Qing dynasty Production date:1700-1710 (Espir (2005))
Materials:porcelain
Technique:glazed, painted, underglazed,
Subjects:architecture
Dimensions:Diameter: 12.70 centimetres (saucer) Height: 5.80 centimetres (cup)

Description:
Chinese porcelain cup and saucer, probably painted in Germany. The cup is unusually shaped, with a high splayed foot and flared rim; both cup and saucer have underglaze-blue double rings on the base. The cup has been painted ‘en grisaille’ with a continuous scene of a castle on the waterfront and a ship firing her cannon. The saucer is similarly painted with a three-masted ship under sail, with a high stern and two rows of cannon along her side, and with a castle in the background and a small armorial emblem among the waves. On the base of the saucer are two coats of arms, also painted ‘en grisaille’, within the blue rings. The left-hand one shows three fish, with a feathered hat as crest, the shield on the right contains three heads and three cups divided by a palm tree, with a palm tree crest.
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Comments:Harrison-Hall and Krahl 1994:The cup and saucer were made at Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province; the enamel decoration was probably added in Germany. Espir (2005):This cup and saucer, depicting a ship at sea and a castle, with the armorials thought to be of the Herringk and Minwegen families on the back of the saucer, have been linked by manners with a series of faience dishes painted by the same hand and with the same coats of arms. He suggests that as they are the only known examples of Preissler type decoration on both faience and Chinese porcelain, they perhaps represent a transition between the Nuremberg and Bohemian traditions.