FOUR 'IMARI' PORCELAIN 'PRONK' DISHES
China, Qing dynasty, 1740 circa

To the bottom of all the dishes a scene with a lady near a pond as she approaches a group of birds, behind her an attendant with a parasol, on the rim eight cartouches reserved on a geometric ground, four with figures and four with birds, to the back eight insects outlined in blue.

23,3 cm diameter each

Provenance: Italian private collection.
The decoration on these dishes - known as the 'Dame au parasol' - was conceived by the Dutch painter Cornelis Pronk (1691-1759) around 1734 at the explicit request of the Dutch East India Company. The original drawing is currently in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam (C.J.A. Jörg, Pronk Porselein. Porcelain after Designs by Cornelis Pronk, Groningen 1980, pl. 31). The Dutch artist drew inspiration for this scene from Chinese porcelain of the Kangxi period, freely modifying the original model to bring it closer to European taste. Chinese potters made several versions of this decoration, in 'blue and white', 'Imari' and 'Famille Rose'. At the same time, a similar decoration was also produced in the Japanese kilns of Arita.