A Chinese blue and white 'Musicians' dish, Kangxi

Dia.: 33,5 cm

Condition: (UV-checked)
- At ca 12 o'clock, a superficial 3 mm rim chip filled and retouched, with a related restored ca. 5 cm hairline, still faintly and partly visible to the naked eye but clearly showing up under UV-light.
- Between 7 and 8 o'clock, three small superficial flakes on the upper outer rim. At ca. 9 o'clock, another very small one.
- On the underside of the rim, a few typical small superficial chips as well as a few spots of baking-related glaze 'peeling'.
- The sound of the dish intact when tapped.

Provenance: A French private collection.

Ref.:
- Christie's, New York, Jan. 21, 2003, lot 256. (sold USD 22.705) (link)
- Christie's, New York, Jan. 23, 2012, lot 406. (sold USD 17.500) (link)
- The British Museum, Museum number 1963,0422.18, for another example (link), with the curator's following comments:
According to Harrison-Hall and Krahl, 1994: This scene was copied from an engraving by Nicolas Bonnart (1646-1718) of Paris and drawn by his brother Robert, entitled 'Symphonie du Tympanum, du Luth et de la Flute d'Allemagne' (Howard and Ayers, 1978, vol. I , pl.35a). The print was also inscribed with verses comparing the inferior pleasures of Music to those of Love (Hervouet and Bruneau, 1986, p. 189). Other dishes with this scene exist, several vary in details such as the landscape scenes in the petal cartouches and some are closer to the original print than the present piece; compare examples in the Princessehof Museum, Leeuwarden, Netherlands (Leeuwarden, 1986, no.100); in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (Godden, 1979, no.21); in the Manchester Art Gallery, Great Britain (Hobson, 1925, pl. XXIX, fig.3); and in the Mottahedeh collection (Howard and Ayers, 1978, vol.I, pl.35). This 'music party' print is one of a number of late 17th-century costume prints and other Chinese porcelain designs exist of ladies with similar elaborate hair-styles, fashionable in France and named the "coiffure, a la Duchesse de Fontanges" after the mistress of Louis XIV (1661-1715), who established its popularity. This print also inspired the decoration of Dutch Delft faience pieces such as an early 18th-century violin at the Musee de Rouen, France (Beurdeley, 1962, fig. 11).