plate BM-1963-0422.22

Period:Qing dynasty Production date:1730-1740 (circa)
Materials:porcelain
Technique:glazed, painted,
Subjects:classical deity
Dimensions:Diameter: 23 centimetres Height: 3 centimetres

Description:
‘Famille rose’ plate with figures from Greek mythology. The plate is painted in enamels of the ‘famille rose’ and shows a couple seated under a tree, the lady dressed in a blue-and-aubergine robe and wearing a jewel-like ornament in her hair, the man naked except for draped pink and yellow scarves, and holding a lyre. Around the rim are sprays of chrysanthemum and rose.
IMG


Comments:Harrison-Hall and Krahl 1994:The scene shows Apollo, son of the highest Greek god, Zeus, who is clearly identified by the lyre with which he won several musical contests among the immortals. Apollo was notorious for his amorous pursuits, but the lady depicted on this plate is not clearly identified. It has been suggested that she represents Daphne (Brighton, 1986, no. 122), but the intimate pose of the couple would seem to speak against this identification since Daphne was one of Apollo’s great loves which, however, he failed to conquer. A plate with this design as well as another with matching decoration of a different immortal couple, are in the Zeeuws Museum, Middelburg,Netherlands (Lunsingh Scheurleer, 1966, pl. 224). They were both probably copied from the same series of prints.