JVV 0527
Delft, circa 1680
The dish has a wide, spreading flange and is painted with a chinoiserie decor in blue and purple. In front of a balustrade sits a somewhat corpulent Chinese gentleman with a musical instrument, presumably a harp. Near him is an elegantly dressed Chinese lady looking away. The outer rim is blue.
Dimensions: diameter 35,4 cm / 13.58 in.
Similar examples
A larger Delftware dish with chinoiserie decor in blue and purple by the same painter and pottery is also in our collection, under number JVV 0498.
Explanatory note
Compared with other Delft dishes with figures in an oriental landscape, this dish is sparsely painted. The space left white, the asymmetrical design of the decor and the two lone mountain peaks painted above the man are elements that may indicate Japanese influence. Whether this influence originated directly from Japanese porcelain or was transmitted via Chinese porcelain cannot be determined, both are possible. Chinese porcelain factories, especially in the Tianqi (1621-1627) and Chongzhen (1628-1644) periods, made large quantities of Japanese-flavoured porcelain for export to Japan. It may be that such porcelain intended for the Japanese market also made its way to the Netherlands via the VOC (Dutch East India Company) and inspired a Delft potter decades later.
