Spoon rest or tray
China
1780-1820
Measurements
3/4 in x 5-1/4 in (dia)
Materials
Gilded and underglaze blue decorated porcelain
Credit Line
Historic Odessa Foundation, gift of H. Rodney Sharp
Accession Number
1959.3713
Condition Notes
The gilding on the rim is worn.
Provenance
Ex coll. H. Rodney Sharp
Comments
The small circular tray with six shallow lobed sides was used for tea spoons, wet with use, that might otherwise harm a table or tablecloth. The carefully rendered decoration shows a Chinese building in the center right with a smaller pagoda-like building to the left. A Chinese railing in the lower left seems to span water. Water separates the main composition from buildings along a smaller coastline in the upper left. Two figures work in the foreground, and a V formation of birds is at the top. Dense and complex floral decoration lines the inside walls. All of the decorative features of this tray readily recall other Chinese porcelains of this time.
This spoon tray is similar to accession no. 1959.3714.
