A CHINESE EXPORT 'PRONK PLUME' MILK JUG AND COVER circa 1740

the yellow diapered ground reserved on either side with a grayish-lavender plume heightened in gilding beneath a tasseled lambrequin border repeated on the rim of the cover without the tassels.

Sold, Christie's, London,  March 19, 1979, lot 115
A Spanish Private Collection, sold at Sotheby's in New York on October 14, 1993, lot 234

San Francisco, Fall Antiques Show, 1995
New York, International Asian Art Fair, 2002

Milk jug with a miniscule chip to the tip of the spout, cover with slightly worn gilding.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

A similar jug and six other tea wares in this pattern are illustrated by Williamson, color pl. XVIII; and by Le Corbeiller 1974, p. 59, no. 25, who comments on p. 58 that "both the spray of plumes—in its more conventional form a palmette—and the tasseled lappets are fundamental elements in the repertoire of baroque ornament; both are conspicuous in the decorative schemes of Jean Bérain [1638-1711], Daniel Marot [1663-1752] and their followers....  These motifs were also borrowed by the porcelain painters of [the] Vienna [factory] where, during the directorship of Claude du Paquier (1719-44) they were treated with similar boldness and formal balance....  Although [in du Paquier porcelain] the palmette was never rendered with the naturalism seen [in the Chinese export pattern], the two types are clearly derived from Marot's prototypes."  A drawing of the dish (among the six aforementioned pieces illustrated by Le Corbeiller) is illustrated by Lunsingh Scheurleer, p. 133, fig. 35.

Forbes, p. 40, no. 63, illustrates a coffee cup and comments that in his History of the Ceramic Art (London, 1873), p. 104, Albert "Jacquemart one of the first to describe this service, mistakenly believed it to be of Japanese manufacture and, not knowing how to categorize it, listed it under "special fabrications."

A teabowl and saucer and a teapot in this pattern are illustrated by Jörg 1989, p. 154, no. 53. A further teabowl and saucer in this pattern, which are illustrated by Jörg 1980, p. 39, fig. 15, who points out the similarity of the plume to that found in the border decoration of the 'In the Arbor' pattern (see lot 129); and by Howard and Ayers, Vol. I, p. 302, no. 296, were in the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Rafi Y. Mottahedeh, sold in these rooms on October 19, 2000, lot 229.  Another teabowl and saucer are illustrated by Krahl and Harrison-Hall, p. 181, no. 77; and a further teabowl and saucer were in the collection of Mr. and Mrs. George Fenimore Johnson, sold in these rooms on January 19, 2008, lot 60.