A CHINESE EXPORT BOWL circa 1730-40

painted with a Dutch couple and their hound strolling in a fenced garden amidst flowering shrubbery and a rock, the interior with a central floral sprig beneath an iron-red and gilt cell diaper and floral panel border around the rim.  Hair crack and tiny chip.

The collection of Mrs. Mildred R. Mottahedeh, New York, 1981

1mm chip to interior rim at 11 o'clock, 1mm chip on exterior rim at 12 o'clock.
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.

According to Howard and Ayers, Vol. I, p. 146, no. 127, who illustrate a plate similarly decorated but in an Imari palette (the example from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Rafi Y. Mottahedeh, sold in these rooms on January 30, 1985, lot 77), "the promenading figures have been variously described as 'Louis XIV and Madame de Maintenon (or Mme de Montespan)', 'General [or Governor] Duff and his wife', and 'A Frisian Couple'.  Both Beurdeley [who illustrates an Imari plate, p. 194, cat. 192] and [Lunsingh] Scheurleer [who illustrates a saucer dish similarly decorated to the present example, pl. 203] are in agreement, however, that the subject is Dutch rather than French," and probably was taken from a contemporary Dutch print, which also would have been used as the inspiration for the figure group, (lot 216) in this catalogue.

Saucer dishes with this decoration are illustrated by Hyde, Silva and Malta, p. 35; by Krahl and Harrison-Hall, p. 59, no. 22; by Wirgin, p. 116, no. 123; by Jörg 1989, p. 203, no. 77, who also illustrates a fluted hexagonal spoon tray and a teabowl and saucer; and by Hervouët and Bruneau, p. 152, no. 7.31, who also illustrate a detail of the dish, p. 153, no. 7.32, as well as the same subject painted on a plate with an Imari-style border on the rim, p. 152, no. 7.30, and on a lacquer commode of circa 1760, p. 153, no. 7.33.  An identical bowl and another slightly smaller were in the collection of Benjamin F. Edwards III, sold at Christie's in New York on January 22, 2003, lot 108, along with a 10 7/8-inch saucer dish, lot 102, and a teapot, lot 107.