Sophie von der Goltz
Head of Sale
Lot 39
A rare and large Loosdrecht charger, circa 1778-82
2 December 2025, 13:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street£1,200 - £1,800
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Nette Megens
Head of Department, Director
Sebastian Kuhn
Department Director
Raphael Machiels
Associate Specialist
Ghislaine Howard
Sale Coordinator
A rare and large Loosdrecht charger, circa 1778-82
Of oval shape, with a shallow, broad rim, decorated in imitation of Japanese Imari ware, a bird perched on a rockwork ground, looking towards a pine tree, the elaborately decorated rim with panels of mythical phoenix in red, gold and pink lustre in cartouches outlined in blue and set within further panels with a part-red and part-gilt ground, in the remaining border chrysanthemum blossoms with gilt foliage appear on a blue ground, 39.5cm diam., 27.5cm high, M.o.L * in underglaze-blue to the base
Footnotes
For an original Japanese Imari example and its Meissen copy see: J. Ayers, O. Impey, J.V.G. Mallet, Porcelain for Palaces, 1990, p. 224, cat.no. 237 and p. 268, cat.no. 307, and the authors also illustrate a similar Loosdrecht dish in the Groninger museum of a more common pattern, also in Imari style, depicting a table with a vase of flowers, p.275, cat.no. 323.
In 1774, Reverend Johannes de Mol established a porcelain factory in Oud-Loosdrecht, inspired by earlier experiments in Weesp. Aiming to provide local employment, he trained residents alongside skilled painters and moulders from abroad. The factory's elegant pieces, marked M.O.L. (Manufacture Oud Loosdrecht), were of exceptional quality but too costly for most buyers. Financial difficulties led to bankruptcy in 1782, after which production moved to Amsterdam and ceased in 1820. Archaeological excavations in the early 2000's uncovered the factory's foundations and porcelain fragments near the old parsonage in Oud-Loosdrecht.