A very rare Dutch Delft yellow ground 'Sample' or 'Hundred antiquities' plate, 18th C.

Dia.: 22,5 cm

It is generally believed that plaques or dishes with 'sample' (monster) design were used by workshops as advertisements for the goods they manufactured or wished to sell. Unfortunately it has not yet been possible to back this up with evidence from workshop archives. Another source for these 'sample' plaques and dishes could be Chinese porcelain with 'Hundred Antiquities' design, where various stylised objects are painted on a plain background. A dish in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam (inv.no. BK-NM-12400-194) shows the same central garniture as the present lot, this time surrounded by a variety of objects which could not have been produced by a Delft potter; a mirror, a chair, a dog and a cat, a wooden basket, a cradle etc The dish here offered is decorated with five medallions enclosing Chinese figures, which is also not really a subject for 'sample' decoration. Another link to a Chinese source is the yellow ground, which reminds us of Kangxi examples (see M.S. van Aken-Fehmers, Delfts Aardewerk, Geschiedenis van een nationaal product, Zwolle, 1999, pp. 148-149, cat. n°. 55 and fig. 1/2 and frontcover).

Ref.:

- Christies, Amsterdam, 'The Dr. Anton C.R. Dreesmann Collection', April 16 2002, lot 1292, for an identical example, attributed to the 'De Grieksche A' workshop, sold €28.200 (link).