A RARE LARGE IMARI DISH EDO PERIOD, 18TH CENTURY | A LARGE ARITA PRONK ‘DAME AU PARASOL’ DISH EDO PERIOD, LATE 17TH CENTURY

the circular dish with wide rim decorated in iron-red, black, green and aubergine enamels and gilt on underglaze blue with the design known as la Dame au Parasol, the reverse with insects in iron-red

- It is in good condition.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Cornelis Pronk was a Dutch draughtsman and porcelain designer. Born in 1691, he became a pupil of Jan van Houten and Arnold Boomen. He was commissioned by the Dutch East India Company to make a series of designs to be used for porcelain. The first dawning was in 1734 and received in Batavia in 1735. This one (see below) was the only known design to be produced both in Japanese and Chinese porcelains and became known as La Dame au Parasol. In sending the drawings to Japan Volker records, “we are pleased that your Honours have had the drawings of porcelains, sent from this country, presented to the Japanese factors in order to test out whether the same can be made in Japan in conforming with the drawings.”¹ However, it did not prove possible to agree a reasonable price with the Japanese potters and no orders were placed. In 1740, the merchants abandoned their attempts on orders of the Dutch East India directors. A small number of pieces were made in Japan and until now only dinner plates are known, Groninger Museum acquired a small saucer dish. Now unrecorded is this large dish which suggest, it was a private commission.

⁽¹⁾ T. Volker, The Japanese Porcelain Trade of the Dutch East India Company after 1683 (Leiden, 1959), p. 78–81.

For a similar example, see Soame Jenyns, Japanese Porcelain, (London, 1965), pl. 46A.