A rare black-ground 'trumpeter' plate, Qianlong period, circa 1745
Lot 534. A rare black-ground 'trumpeter' plate, Qianlong period, circa 1745; 9 in. (22.8 cm.) diameter. Estimate USD 10,000 - USD 15,000. Price realised USD 25,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2019.
With two Turkish musicians, possibly inspired by or after Cornelis Pronk, gilt spearhead at the rim, all on a lustrous black ground.
Property from Antoine Lebel.
Note: Howard and Ayers, (China For the West, vol.1, p.305) suggest that this was undoubtedly a specially commissioned design, since the shapes of pieces are those of European tea-services in about 1740 and as it illustrates music played 'eastward of the Levant', and discuss the possibility that the pattern may have been designed by Cornelis Pronk for a private order through the VOC.
Christie's. Chinese Export Art Featuring the Hodroff Collection, Part IV, New York, 17 January 2019