Exquisite plate with fresh and vibrant colors.
Made between 1736-1738, Qianlong.
It was decorated in polychrome enamels with a lady beside the water’s edge with reeds, gesturing towards three birds on the ground in front of her and her maid holding an ornate parasol.
On the sides, a garland; on the rim, a honeycomb pattern in four rows, four large cartouches with birds repeated from the central scene, and four small cartouches with ladies from the central scene. Eight insects in iron red are on the back of the rim.
The Rijksmuseum has smaller versions in its collection.
In 1734, the directors of the VOC commissioned the Amsterdam artist Cornelis Pronk (1691-1759) to make a set of drawings for the decoration of Chinese porcelain.
In all, he made four different designs for the VOC, the first being this chinoiserie which is generally called ‘The parasol Lady’.
