232.
THREE POLYCHROME AND GILT LOBED DISHES
the porcelain Qing dynasty, Kangxi period, early 18th century; the decoration Dutch, 1720 circa (one dated 1720)
22,1 cm diam each
Provenance: Naples, Villa della Floridiana, Museo Duca di Martina, Placido de Sangro (1829-1891) collection.
inv. nn. 3557, 3565, ….
These three dishes belong to a set of at least eleven pieces with a decoration added in Holland about the theme of the famous “South Sea Bubble”. The portrayed personages are satirical figures of Dutch shareholders who suffered during the scandal (H. Espir, European Decoration on Oriental Porcelain 1700-1830, London 2005, pp. 156-158, fig. 7). The source of inspiration for these composition are caricatures of the shareholders which appeared in 1720 in Holland on a pack of fifty-four playing cards entitled April-kaart of kaartspel van Momus (“April card or Momu’s Game at Cards after the newest fashion”) (R. Krahl – J. Harrison-Hall, Ancient Chinese Trade Ceramics from the British Museum, Taipei 1994, p. 143, for five less refined dishes with this subject in the British Museum, London).
Each of the figures on these three dishes is accompanied by a satirical inscription which only partially recalls the test on the cards.
One of the figure is brandishing a sword and wears a tabard with the coat of arms of Amsterdam, Leiden and Haarlem, the three cities mainly involved in the financial crack. The inscription on this dish, followed by the 1720 date, is the same that appears near the figure on the card three of diamonds: Op Mijn Trits Ben ik bits, which could be translated as “I am embittered about my three”; the other inscription on the lower side of the same card reads: Drie laaten nog haar tanden zien/ Al waar Mercuur Neptuun weerhoud/ in ‘t vlien (“Three still show her teeth/ all where Mercury restrains Neptune/ in the fling”).
Another figure could be associated to the four of diamonds card. Respect to the print, the figure on the dish misses the flag which the man in the card holds in his left hand. The inscription on the porcelain is not well readable, while on the card appear the text Noord Oost (“Nord east”) near the scientific instrument the man holds with his right hand, below the inscription ‘t Compas heest vier Gewesten/ Ik praal met de twee beste (“Compass is four regions/ I stand out with the best two”).
The inscription on the third dish is also not well readable (mor bleu … … Moet daar aan). The card is that of the six of diamonds. Near the banner with a chariot and horses that the standing man holds in his left hand, the inscription t Zes gespan/ in de ban (“Six tighened/ banned”) and below the text ‘k Ben nu Actief Ruiter te voet/ Mits ik het zes gespan passiet ver/ laaten moet (“I am now an active rider on foot/ provided that I have to leave the six tense passionate”).
A finely painted series of dishes with this rare subject was in the Hervouet collection (F. and N. Hervouët – Y. Bruneau, La porcelaine des Compagnie des Indes a décor occidental, Paris 1986, nn. 16.63-16.71); another group of seven comparable dishes is in the Fries Museum and another one in the Princessehof Museum in Leeuwarden (F. and N. Hervouët – Y. Bruneau, La porcelaine des Compagnie des Indes a décor occidental, Paris 1986, nn. 16.55-16.62).
