A VERTE-IMARI DISH AND AN UNUSUAL BLUE AND WHITE 'BOTANICAL' CHARGER

18th century

18th century
The verte-Imari dish decorated in underglaze blue, iron-red and gilt, with floral scrolls to the rim, framing a part-open scroll with a central scene depicting a pheasant perched on a blossoming prunus branch and another flying above; the blue and white botanical charger painted with a branch of cloves and one of nutmeg above a large pineapple. 22.2cm (8 3/4in) and 32cm (12 1/2in) diam. (2).

Provenance: The verte-Imari dish - Pater Gratia Oriental Art, 2011, no. 538 (label)

The unusual design of the botanical charger is taken from an engraving from A Compleat History of Druggs, by Pierre Pomet published in London 1712. The original French version of the book by Pierre Pomet Histoire Générale des Drogues was published in Paris in 1694. The book was part medical journal but also partly a guide to exotic places and customs. Pierre Pomet (1658-1699) became chief pharmacist to Louis XIV. A blue and white porcelain coffee cup and saucer with this unusual design was recovered from the wreck of a ship built in London, the Griffin, which sank in 1761. See: Griffin, On The Route Of An Indiaman (Franck Goddio, Evelyne Jay Guyot de Saint Michel. English edition, Periplus 1999. ISBN 1-902699-00-9) pages 226 and 227 plate XXV, fig. B.