Chinese Export Blue & White Tea Bowl and Saucer, Neptune, the God of Sea

The Chinese Export porcelain, probably made for the Dutch market, depicts Neptune, the God of the Sea, standing with his triton in the center of the design with a number of other figures to his left and right with three large fish or whales at his feet. The lower section of the design depicting the sea. The border of each piece with a repeating diaper design.

Dimensions: Saucer: 4 1/2 inches diameter x 3/4 inch high (11.53cm diameter x 1.91cm high); Cup: 2 3/4 inches diameter x 1 3/4 inches high (6.99cm diameter x 4.45cm high).

The design is after an etching called `The Realm of Neptune` by Frederick Bloemaert (c.1610-c.1669) completed between 1650-1656, after a drawing by his father Abraham Bloemaert (1566–1651).

This is a Baroque design which is only found in blue and white on Chinese porcelain, it occurs on fine grained porcelain and Chinese soft-paste porcelain. Both dinner services and tea services were produced.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has a plate in their collection, Helena Woolworth McCann Collection, Purchase, Winfield Foundation Gift, 1966 (Ass. # 66.27.5).

Reference:

Jorg states “The depiction of Neptune, the God of the Sea of classical mythology occurs in several varieties on Chine de Commande from the 1740`s onwards.

How well the design sold is illustrated by an order from 1778, when they sent a chocolate cup with this design as a model for similarly decorated plates. However, the Dutch merchants in Canton refused to have them made as `all that is European painting or figures costs twice as much as Chinese”.

For a blue and white porcelain bowl, cover and stand with this design dated to c.1765 see: Chinese Export Porcelain in the Reeves Center Collection at Washington and Lee University (Thomas V. Litzenburg Jr. Third Millennium Publishing London 2003. ISBN 1-903942-1-9-5) page 196, plate 195.

A pair of plates of this design are illustrated in Fine Chinese Export Porcelain, Christie`s London 11th and 12th of November 1985, lot 303.