A CHINESE EXPORT PORCELAIN `DON QUIXOTE` PLATE - photo 1
A CHINESE EXPORT PORCELAIN `DON QUIXOTE` PLATE - photo 2

A CHINESE EXPORT PORCELAIN `DON QUIXOTE` PLATE

Lot 544
19.01.2024 10:00UTC -05:00
Classic
Starting price
$ 6 000
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUSA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1122214
Lot 544 | A CHINESE EXPORT PORCELAIN 'DON QUIXOTE' PLATE
Estimate value
$ 6 000 – 8 000
A CHINESE EXPORT PORCELAIN 'DON QUIXOTE' PLATE

QIANLONG PERIOD, CIRCA 1750

Richly enameled with the hapless knight wearing blue armor and a rose cape as he rides his humble steed, Rocinante, a lance in his hand and the barber's basin on his head, the faithful Sancho Panza walking to the right, two women peeking from behind a tree at the left, the border with four scrollwork cartouches painted in grisaille with alternating landscapes and bird-and-flower scenes

9 1⁄8 in. (23.2 cm.) diameter





Further details

This plate illustrates an episode from Chapter XXI in Part I of Cervantes' novel, in which the fanciful protagonist charges at a barber, believing that the shaving-basin he has placed on his head as a makeshift rain-hat is the mythical 'helmet of Mambrino'. The figures at the left side represent a pair of women who laugh as the fancy-struck Don Quixote places the brass bowl atop his own head. The composition originates with a cartoon painted by Charles-Antoine Coypel, circa 1714, as a design for a series of tapestries based on the novel, which were produced by the Gobelins factory in Paris in the 1720s.

Coypel's designs then formed the basis for engraved illustrations by Bernard Picart, circa 1733 and Jacob Folkema, circa 1741, the latter of which is believed to have formed the print source for an earlier series of Chinese export porcelain wares, circa 1741, including the previous lot in this sale. In the present version of the scene from Cervantes' novel, dating about ten years later, the painting of the landscape has become more Chinese in style, the barber and his horse have disappeared and the basin on Quixote's head has come to resemble a black hat. Both Howard & Ayers and Hervouët & Bruneau speculate that these circa 1750 plates were based on the earlier Chinese export porcelain, rather than on one of the Coypel-inspired European engravings.

For an plate of the same type, see D. Howard and J. Ayers, China for the West, London and New York, 1978, I, pp. 345-346, no. 344. For an illustrated comparison between two larger plates of the 1740 and 1750 types, see F. & N. Hervouët and Y. Bruneau, La Porcelaine des Compagnies des Indes a Décor Occidental, Paris, 1986, pp. 194-195, nos. 9.2-9.3. For two further examples, see the plate sold from the Dr. Anton C.R. Dreesmann collection, Christie's, New York, 10 April 2002, lot 451; and the example in the J. Louis Binder collection sold by Christie's, London, 17 June 2003, lot 96. An oval platter from the collection of Ann & Gordon Getty was sold by Christie's, New York, 24 October 2022, lot 961.
Applied technique:Pottery
Medium:Ceramic, Porcelain
Art style:Chinese Export
Historical era:Qianlong period
Place of origin:China, Eastern Asia, Asia
Auction house category:All other types of objects, Plates & Dishes, Plates
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
20 Rockefeller Plaza
10020 New York
USA
Preview
17.01.2024
18.01.2024
Phone +1 212 636 2000
Fax +1 212 636 4930
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase
Shipping Postal service
Courier service
pickup by yourself
Payment methods Wire Transfer
Business hoursBusiness hours
Mo 09:30 – 17:00   
Tu 09:30 – 17:00   
We 09:30 – 17:00   
Th 09:30 – 17:00   
Fr 09:30 – 17:00   
Sa closed
Su closed

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.
?>