About this sheet
This is a set of three original 1911 color plates, Plates 199, 202 and 204 from Volume II of Gorer and Blacker's Chinese Porcelain and Hard Stones, sold together as one lot. What links them: three great famille rose jars. Plate 199: Jar and cover, very large, one of a pair. A remarkable ground of mille-fleurs, the decoration showing the interweaving of flowers on stems placed side by side, presenting an infinite variety of types and shades of color; on each side a large ju-i head shaped panel containing scenes, with balustrades alike in both scenes in blue. The book gives it to the Kien-lung period and records height 27 inches (68.6 cm); diameter 15 1/2 inches (39.5 cm). From the collection formed by Richard Bennett, Esq., D.L. Plate 202: Large jar and cover, one of a pair. Continuous decoration on the body, where two feng-huang carrying ling-chih stand upon blue rocks; between the two birds are two white cranes and two golden pheasants amongst gorgeous peonies and other flowers and foliage; brilliant examples of decoration in the famille rose. The book gives it to the Kien-lung period and records height 34 1/2 inches (87.5 cm); diameter 19 inches (48 cm). Plate 204: Jar and cover, very large. A beautiful ruby or rose ground enclosing two leaf-shaped panels with green stalks; one panel shows a group of figures in a garden near a pavilion, a mandarin with a single attendant paying a formal visit to two ladies, all carrying fans; the enamel colors reveal the best qualities of the famille rose. The book gives it to the Kien-lung period and records height 24 1/4 inches (61.6 cm); diameter 14 3/4 inches (37.5 cm). In the collection of A. E. Cumberbatch, Esq.
Chinese Porcelain and Hard Stones, by Edgar Gorer and J. F. Blacker, was published in London by Bernard Quaritch in 1911 in two volumes with two hundred and fifty four color plates, and these sheets are among them, from Volume II. The plates are color collotypes, a photographic process that reproduces continuous tone without a visible dot screen, which is why the glazes keep their depth on paper.
The book appeared at the height of the Edwardian passion for Chinese porcelain, when English and American collections were being formed at speed and a dealer's catalog could shape taste. R. L. Hobson of the British Museum attacked Gorer's attributions in print when the work appeared, and later scholarship has revised many attributions of this kind, which is part of what makes the volumes interesting to read now.
It hangs well in a bedroom or a small sitting room where a large picture would overwhelm the wall, and it rewards being hung at eye level where the detail can be read. The three sheets are the same size and were printed by the same hand, so they hang as one group.
These are original antique prints, not modern reproductions. They are three original sheets sold together as one lot, and the set is never split.
Even age toning throughout. Light foxing in the margins of all three sheets. All corners complete on every sheet.
This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.
