Porcelain plate decorated with the "Cape of Good Hope - Lot 17

Porcelain plate decorated with the "Cape of Good Hope Espérance" for the Dutch market. China. Period Qianlong (1736-1795), circa 1740 Provenance: Morada (Portugal) Decorated in famille rose enamels, depicting a scene with four three-masted ships flying the Dutch flag, anchored at Table Mountain Bay Bay" in Cape Town, South Africa. The cavetto and wing are adorned with a rich gold border. Several versions of this decoration were produced, with different borders on the wing. The Cape Colony is depicted here in great detail, showing rows of houses along the shore, the ships, the clouds atop "Table Mountain", the perspective of the scene, suggesting that a Western source of inspiration might have been used. The waves are depicted in Delft style. In 1652, Jan van Riebeeck established a VOC trading post at the Cape of Good Hope, at the foot of Table Mountain. Mountain. The Cape then developed rapidly, becoming an important port of call on the VOC trade route between Holland and Batavia (Jakarta), providing ships with supplies of food and fresh water. For a similar plate, see Clare Le Corbeiller, China Trade Porcelain: Patterns of Exchange, 1974, p. 84. Two fels restored. Diameter: 23 cm