The shallow dish decorated after the Dutch artist Cornelius Pronk's design with the classic topiary garden scene painted in bright enamels, the center depicting a seated figure flanked by his attendant and surrounded by four young boys playing, a pond with ducks and reeds, encircled by a border with cartouches of moths, butterflies, auspicious flowers and fruit, the reverse with an iron-red, stylized lambrequin band with lappets of alternating size, the larger lappets suspending purple enameled pendant tassels.

Provenance: From the collection of William Martin Hurst. Philip Suval Inc., New York, 1991. Richard and Maxine Markell, acquired from the above. A copy of the original invoice from Philip Suval Inc., New York, dated 24 September 1991, describing the piece as a porcelain plate decorated with a design by Cornelius Pronk, known as ‘in the arbor’, dating the piece to circa 1735-1740, and stating a purchase price of USD 5,800 or approx. EUR 12,000 (converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing), accompanies this lot. Two old labels to the base ‘W. Martin Hurst Collection’ and ‘195’, and one remnant of an old label. William Martin-Hurst (1876-1941) was the Managing Editor of the Exclusive News Agency. He wrote articles on Yongzheng and Qianlong porcelain, most notably collaborating with George Williamson on The Book of Famille Rose. He was also said to have the largest collection of famille rose eggshell wares, and the aim of his collection was described to be ‘in the direction of the finest cabinet pieces’. Philip Suval Inc. was an art gallery, operating from at least 1879 in Southampton, New York, with an additional two locations listed in Manhattan by 1930. They are still in business today, specializing in antique ceramics.
Condition: Very good condition with some wear, most of the enamels still very crisp and well-preserved. Few small chips to back of rim, not visible on the front. Manufacturing flaws including pitting, glaze recesses, firing cracks, dark spots, and light warping.

Weight: 524 g
Dimensions: Diameter 26.1 cm

Because of its strong Western composition and coloring, the ‘in the arbor’ motif has been attributed to Cornelius Pronk even though no specific drawings have survived. However, there exists a watercolor by Pronk of a tea pavilion in a Haarlem park, dating from around 1730, and it is possible that the artist adapted this earlier effort for the porcelain.

The Dutch draughtsman, Cornelis Pronk (1691-1754), was commissioned by directors of the Dutch East India Company in 1734 to produce designs to be transferred on to Chinese porcelain which they hoped would be more successful than Chinese designs. However, due to the expense of transferring his designs onto porcelain, the volume of Pronk's work is relatively small, and his designs ceased in 1738. ‘In the arbor’ is supposedly Pronk's fourth and last certain design for the Dutch East India Company and was drawn in 1737. For an informative discussion of the use of documented patterns by Pronk, see William R. Sargent, Treasures of Chinese Export Ceramics from the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, 2012, pp. 275-293, nos. 146 and 147.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related Pronk ‘arbor’ dish, 26.3 cm diameter, dated ca. 1735-1740, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, accession number CIRC.452-1931.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s Amsterdam, 3 October 2012, lot 358
Price: EUR 5,000 or approx. EUR 6,100 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Chinese famille rose Pronk 'Arbour' plate, circa 1738
Expert remark: Compare the near-identical motif and crisp enamels, especially the darker shades of the arbor. Note the smaller size (23 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s London, 17 April 2013, lot 346
Price: GBP 9,375 or approx. EUR 15,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Chinese Famille Rose Pronk 'Arbour' Dish, Early Qianlong Period, Circa 1738-1740
Expert remark: Compare the near-identical motif and crisp enamels. Note the larger size (32.2 cm).



1735-1740年粉彩普隆克人物故事圖盤
敞口，斜腹，圈足。淺盤根據荷蘭藝術家 Cornelius Pronk 的設計，用明亮的琺瑯繪製經典的園林景觀，中心開光描繪了人物故事場景，一個人物坐著，兩側有他的侍者；周圍有四個正在玩耍的小童；一個有鴨子和蘆葦的池塘。盤壁錦地開光描繪飛蛾、蝴蝶、吉祥花卉和水果。盤背面有鐵紅色釉描繪飾帶，飾有大小交替的垂飾，較大的垂飾懸掛著紫色琺瑯吊墜流蘇。

來源：William Martin Hurst私人收藏。；紐約Philip Suval Inc.藝廊，1991年；Richard 與 Maxine Markell，購於上述藝廊。隨附一份Philip Suval Inc.1991年9月24日出具的發票複印本，上面描述此盤為Cornelius Pronk設計，約爲 1735-1740年，價格爲 USD 5,800 或 EUR 12,000 (根據通貨膨脹率)。底部有兩個標籤 ‘W. Martin Hurst Collection’ 與 ‘195’，還有一個標籤殘片。William Martin-Hurst (1876-1941) 是一家獨家新聞社的總編輯。他撰寫了有關雍正和乾隆瓷器的文章，最著名的是與George Williamson 合作撰寫的《粉彩》(The Book of Famille Rose)。據說他還收藏了最多的粉彩薄胎器。他的收藏目的被描述為“朝著最好的櫥櫃方向發展”。Philip Suval Inc. 是一家藝術畫廊，至少從 1879 年開始在紐約南安普頓運營，到 1930 年在曼哈頓另外還有兩個地點上市。他們今天仍在營業，專門從事古董陶瓷。
品相：狀況極好，有一些磨損，大部分琺瑯保存完好。邊緣背面有一些小刻痕，從前面看不到。製造缺陷包括點蝕、釉面凹陷、燒製裂紋、黑點和翹曲。

重量：524 克
尺寸：直徑 26.1 厘米

畫面構圖極富西方色彩，“在喬木中” 這個圖案被認為是Cornelius Pronk 的設計，儘管沒有具體的圖畫留存下來。然而，哈勒姆公園的茶館中有一幅Pronk的水彩畫，可追溯到 1730 年左右，藝術家可能將這一早期作品改編為瓷器圖案。

荷蘭插圖家 Cornelis Pronk（1691-1754 年）於 1734 年受荷蘭東印度公司董事的委託，負責製作要中國瓷器上的設計，他們希望這些設計比中國本土設計更成功。然而，由於將他的設計轉移到瓷器上的費用龐大，Pronk 的作品數量相對較小，他的設計於 1738 年停止。“在喬木中”據說是 Pronk 為荷蘭東印度公司設計的第四個也是最後一個特定設計，並且是繪製於 1737 年。有關 Pronk 使用記錄圖案的信息性討論，請參閱 William R. Sargent，Peabody Essex Museum博物館的《中國出口陶瓷珍品》，塞勒姆，2012年 年，第 275-293 頁，第 146 和 147 期。

文獻比較：
比較一件非常相近約1735-1740年普隆克盤，直徑26.3 厘米，收藏於維多利亞與亞伯特博物館，館藏編號CIRC.452-1931。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：阿姆斯特丹佳士得，2012年10月3日，lot 358
價格：EUR 5,000（相當於今日EUR 6,100）
描述：約1738年中國粉彩普隆克盤
專家評論：比較幾乎相同的主題和明亮的琺瑯。請注意尺寸較小(23 厘米).

拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：倫敦佳士得，2013年4月17日，lot 346
價格：GBP 9,375（相當於今日EUR 15,000）
描述：約1738-1740年乾隆早期普隆克盤
專家評論：比較幾乎相同的主題和明亮的琺瑯。請注意尺寸較大(32.2 厘米)。