Antique Chinese & Japanese PorcelainEuropean Ceramics & Works of Art
Chinese famille rose mythological subject 'four elements' plate, Qianlong (1736-1795) c.1740, painted with an allegorical scene representing 'Earth', with Cybèle accompanied by three of the 'four seasons', Bacchus, Flora and Ceres, in a chariot drawn by mythical beasts, the surrounding landscape with a maiden reclining on a pink rug in the foreground having flowers put into her hair by an attendant putto, two further putti on a mat with flute and basket of fruit, two others playing and picking flowers; all within a blue scrolling border
Dimensions:
Diameter: 23.2cm. (9 1/8 in.)
Condition:
Good
Notes:
The scene on this plate is based on a painting by Francesco Albani (1578-1660) commissioned for the Borghese Palace, Rome. Albani painted a set of four mythological scenes representing the elements for the palace and later produced three variant series, the best-known being for Cardinal Maurice of Savoy in 1635, now in the Turin Museum. The popularity of such scenes and their rendering by various engravers made them a popular subject choice for export porcelain. For a similar example see William R. Sargent 'Treasures of Chinese Export' Yale 2012, p. 297
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