Assiette Lot n° 42

CHINA, COMPAGNIE DES INDES - CIRCA 1721 - 1725 Plate in porcelain decorated in blue underglaze and polychrome enamels "doucai" of a character of the "commedia dell'arte" known as "south sea bubble", surrounded by the motto "schÿt actien en wind-handel", the wing decorated with foliage frieze. Reference: A complete set from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Y. Rafi Mottahedeh illustrated in Howard and Ayers, China for the West, London, 1978, vol. I, p. 234 and 235, no. 230. Another set of six plates also reproduced by Hervouët and Bruneau, Porcelaine des Compagnies des Indes à Décor Occidental, Paris, 1986, pl. 9.55-9.60. These plates were ordered for the Dutch market between 1722 and 1735 as a result of speculation that began in England and France and spread to the Netherlands around 1719. Many Dutch people engaged in unbridled agiotage and became shareholders of the Law Company in Paris and other English companies, including the South Sea Company, and made large profits. From 1719 onwards, bankruptcies multiplied and Law's system collapsed, along with the English and Dutch companies, which led to the ruin of the shareholders. From then on, the media of the time (newspapers, books, playing cards, theater and ceramics), echoed these disasters. Most of the satirical engravings were collected in an album under the title Het grote Tafereel der Dwasheid (The Big Picture of Madness). Our series makes fun of the shareholders and companies of the Netherlands by using the characters of the commedia dell'arte, which was very popular at that time. Expert: Cabinet Portier D : 21 cm