JVV 0553
Delft, 1660-1670
The salad dish has a wide-spreading flange, a convex centre and is painted in blue with an exuberant chinoiserie decor. Three pairs of elegantly dressed Chinese literati walk and converse in a stylised, oriental landscape near a banana tree, two pine trees and a prunus.
Dimensions: diameter 47 cm / 18.50 in.
Explanatory note
Dishes with a convex centre are called salad dishes. They occur in a variety of formats. Salad dishes with chinoiserie decors are rare. The decoration is inspired by Chinese porcelain from the transitional period at the end of the Ming and the start of the Qing dynasty. The porcelain of the last Ming emperor Chongzhen (reigned 1628-1644), the first Qing emperor Shunzi (reigned 1644-1662) and the initial period until 1674 of his successor Kangxi (reigned 1662-1722) may have served as examples for this dish. The transition period in China lasted more than 60 years (1620-1683) and was accompanied by much unrest, conflict and war. The Ming dynasty finally fell in 1644, but it took decades before peace returned to China. For example, the porcelain kilns in Jingdezhen, the main porcelain city in China, were destroyed in 1674.
