A pair of 'Rebecca at the well' plates, mid-18th century

Enamelled in the center with the Biblical scene of Abraham's servant Eliezer meeting Rebecca at the well near the City of Nachor, Rebecca filling a large yellow jug on the ground, other women alongside with their water jugs, all within gilt scroll-and-shell border on the rim - 9 in. (22.8 cm.) diameter (2) - Estimate: $10,000-15,000

Note: This romantic story from the Book of Genesis - in which Abraham sends his servant to find a bride for his son, Isaac, in their homeland of Mesopotamia, where the old man is offered a drink by the kindly Rebecca and realizes he has found the perfect candidate - was a favorite of European painters, and thus made its way into engravings and eventually Chinese export porcelain. See Howard & Ayers, op. cit., p. 308 for an example from the Mottahedeh collection.

Christie's. Chinese Export Art. 23 January 2008, 10:00 am. 20 Rockefeller Plaza, New York