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Pair of Large "Leaping Boy" Plates from the Nanking Cargo Shipwreck

$2,250per set
£1,696.51per set
€1,954.99per set
CA$3,121.36per set
A$3,497.47per set
CHF 1,820.56per set
MX$42,786.11per set
NOK 23,108.69per set
SEK 21,825.88per set
DKK 14,594.41per set
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About the Item

A pair of large blue and white Qing Dynasty plates recovered from the Nanking Cargo. A large cache of porcelain and other merchandise was discovered on the wreck of a Dutch East India Company ship, the Geldermalsen, which sank in the South China Sea in 1752 and was discovered in 1985. These plates are decorated in the "Leaping Boy" pattern, which depicts two figures and a pavilion underneath pine trees, with a rock formation in the distance, and with three exuberant sprays of flowers around the rim. The glaze remains shiny, and the blue is a deep cobalt. The plates appear to have been painted by two different artists, as one is rendered in darker, bolder brushstrokes, while the other is more delicate and paler, with a lighter touch. There are subtle differences in the interpretation of the pattern as well: The bolder plate shows a figure standing in the doorway of a pavilion watching the other spin around and dash off, as evidenced by the flying hem of his coat, while the lighter plate has the figure in the pavilion crouching in the doorway, while the other, arms outstretched, seems to be turning back towards him. The ship had been bound for Amsterdam from Canton when it crashed into a reef and sank along with its cargo of tea, raw silk, porcelain and gold ingots. Some 235 years after it set out on its journey, the cargo was recovered by Captain Michael Hatcher and sold at Christie's in Amsterdam. The set has its original Christie's Amsterdam sale label reading "The Nanking Cargo" and stamped with lot number 4605. Provenance: Christie's Amsterdam, The Nanking Cargo, April 28-May 2, 1986, lot no. 4605. Published in The Hatcher Porcelain Cargoes: The Complete Record, by Colin Sheaf and Richard Kilburn (1988), pictured on p. 120.
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 1.5 in (3.81 cm)Diameter: 11.2 in (28.45 cm)
  • Sold As:
    Set of 2
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
    1750-1759
  • Date of Manufacture:
    1751
  • Condition:
    Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. One of the plates is in excellent condition apart from a few minor frits on the rim; the other has a chip, from which there is a crack of approximately 1.3 inches.
  • Seller Location:
    Atlanta, GA
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU7220241322222

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