JAPANESE PORCELAIN PLAT WITH IMARI DESIGN Kyushu... Lot 21

JAPANESE PORCELAIN PLAT WITH IMARI DESIGN Kyushu Island, Arita factory Edo period, first quarter of the 18th century Glazed porcelain, painted in blue, red and gold Perfect state of preservation D. 55 cm Provenance Galerie Finck et fils, Brussels Private collection, Paris This large Japanese porcelain platter has an Imari design consisting of a jardinière and two flowering vases with two birds. This model, typical of the 1700s, can be found on a dish in the Victoria and Albert Museum (fig. 1) or on a pair from the former collection of the Elector of Saxony, King of Poland, known as Auguste Le Fort (1670-1730) (fig. 2). The stool on which the jardinière rests creates an effect of depth, enhanced here by the luxuriance of the vegetation painted in very subtle shades of blue and red, illuminated by the gold. The decoration on the wing of our dish is particularly covering. The two phoenixes populate a rocky and cloudy landscape, loaded with heavy flowering branches. The collection of Asian porcelains of the Elector Frederick-Augustus I of Saxony, known as Le Fort and King of Poland under the name of Augustus II (1670-1733), was constituted at the beginning of the 18th century and was the basis of inspiration for the production of the Meissen porcelain factory imitating the porcelains of China and Japan. In less than 15 years, he accumulated around 25,000 pieces from the Far East in Dresden. Among these, Japanese porcelain in the Imari style had a special place, particularly in the central hallway on the ground and first floors of the Dutch Palace, completed in 1717 at the gates of Dresden. The Japanese Palace, which the prince had planned to build to display his porcelain collections, remained unfinished after his death. Unlike in modern times, these porcelain pieces were not intended to be displayed in isolation and out of context. For this reason, they were presented in Asian-inspired settings in purpose-built buildings, which created a real emulation among the various European sovereign courts. The fashion for this was set by a French architect, Daniel Marot (Paris 1661 - The Hague 1752), who went into exile in 1685 in the Netherlands after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. After the death of his son Augustus III and the Seven Years' War , the porcelain was relegated to the cellars of the Japanese Palace. There, collectors could come and acquire pieces. It was not until the 19th century that the idea of a universal museum of porcelain was born. The proceeds from the sale of Asian porcelain were used to acquire pieces from other famous manufactures, notably Sèvres. In 1875 the porcelain collection was moved from the Japanese Palace to the Johanneum. Further information from the collector can be found in the PDF using a QR code.