Oval platter
China
1780-1820
Measurements
1-5/8 in x 19-3/4 n x 16-5/8 in
Materials
Gilded and underglaze-blue decorated porcelain
Credit Line
Historic Odessa Foundation, anonymous loan
Accession Number
2011.14
Condition Notes
Only traces remain of gilding in the border decoration around the rim.
Provenance
Ex coll. H. Rodney Sharp
Comments
This finely executed oval platter in blue and white shows a characteristic Chinese image of a building set in a rugged landscape with a body of water separating more distant lands. Asian trees and birds populate the picture, and two wide and detailed bands encircle it. Part of the banded decoration was originally ornamented in gilt, but it has now worn off almost entirely. The rim and booge (the curved edge at the platter bottom) decoration, composed of a diapered lattice with detail below and a hexagonal cell band, are also found on Fitzhugh pattern porcelains of the same time.
Fine 19th century renderings in blue and white are often called “Nanking,” in reference to the port where the porcelains were decorated. Related blue-and-white porcelains of lesser quality are often called “Canton.”
The outside bottom of this platter is unglazed.
For other fine examples of this style, see accession nos. 2011.8 through 2011.13, all of which share the same 20th century provenance and may have been parts of the same service. Those without gilding may have had it removed if it had worn from use.
