Pair of 18th C. Chinese Export Famille Rose Puce Plates

Chinese export shaped porcelain plates decorated en camaieu (i.e., in monochrome), circa 1750.

Dimensions: Each approximately 9” diameter.

Decoration:
The rim is lined with a gold band with C scrolls and decorated with puce flower sprays.

The cavetto is lined with a similar gold band.

The center is decorated with a large bouquet of puce flowers.

The reverse is unmarked.

The floral sprays on the rim and the bouquet in the center are painted using the same technique found on black grisaille ware of the period.

In her thesis, “The Quest for Refinement: Chinese Export Porcelain en Grisaille, 1725 -1810” (Harvard Univ. 1990), Christina Platsis notes that at about this time Chinese artists began using colored enamels in the grisaille manner, and that puce was often chosen because it was fashionable on European porcelains of the time.

Condition: One plate has a hairline. Both have some roughness to edges, wear to gilding, and minor glaze imperfections. Otherwise, they are in excellent condition consistent with age and usage. Please examine the photos; they are part of the description.