Nette Megens
Head of Department, Director
Lot 45
A Chinese export porcelain 'Pronk Ladies with Parasol' dish, Qianlong period, circa 1740
1 December 2025, 13:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street£400 - £600
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A Chinese export porcelain 'Pronk Ladies with Parasol' dish, Qianlong period, circa 1740
Decorated in the Imari palette with a lady feeding ducks shaded by her maid-servant, the polychrome decoration picked out in gilding, the border with cartouches of birds and figures, 23.5cm diam
Footnotes
Literature
White, Mary, Eating at the Whites' House, Vol.3, 2022, p.116, fig.a
This is an Imari version of the well-known Chine de Commande blue and white design. The pattern was used until at least 1760-70, and several versions of of the design are known.
Cornelis Pronk (Amsterdam, 1691-1759) also spelt Pronck, played an important role in the development of the 'European' style of painting on Chinese export wares. Up until his arrival, transmitting designs to the Asian artisans was a precarious business. First of all designs were often misinterpreted, but also the speed of delivery often meant that designs were outdated by the time the decorated porcelain reached Europe.
Pronk was a draughtsman by profession and is known particularly for his numerous topographical drawings. In 1734, as an experiment, the Dutch East India Company board, the Heren XVII, commissioned Pronk to design for services and other porcelains. He designed scenes in a largely imaginary Chinese style; the case of this plate featuring a Chinese lady at the waterside and a female servant holding an umbrella. Pronk's drawings were sent to Batavia and from there to China, where orders were made in 1736. Pronk made four different designs, of which 'The Parasol Ladies' was most popular. The Dutch East India Company ended stopped their orders in 1740 because the production and shipping from China proved too costly, however, the pattern continued to be used until at least 1760-1770, and there are several versions of the design known, all from larger services, varying from polychrome to underglaze-blue. Four of Pronk's sketchbooks are in the collection of the Rijksprentenkabinet, part of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.