A CHINESE EXPORT TOPOGRAPHICAL PLATE circa 1765

painted en grisaille in the center with a stork in flight above Jacob Bobart, Sr. standing near his goat and recumbent dog before the Danby Gate of the Botanical Garden at Oxford, the cavetto with a gilt spearhead border, and the rim with colorful floral sprays and sprigs.  Minor chips.

Sold, Sotheby's, London, July 3, 1984, lot 174

 

San Francisco, Fall Antiques Show, 1995
London, A Tale of Three Cities, 1997, no. 143

David S. Howard, A Tale of Three Cities: Canton, Shanghai & Hong Kong, p. 117, no. 143

Rim with 5mm very shallow chip on outer edge at 5 o'clock and a 2mm chip under the edge at 3:30 and a 3mm chip under the edge at 3 o'clock, slight stacking wear, visible at 9 o'clock, Sotheby's London sticker.
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.

An identical plate from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Rafi Y. Mottahedeh, sold in these rooms on January 30, 1985, lot 159, is illustrated by Howard and Ayers, Vol. I, p. 263, no. 258, who on pp. 262 and 263 provide an interesting commentary on the Oxford Botanical Garden and its first Keeper, Jacob Bobart, Sr., on the possible original owner of this service, and on the decoration, which they note was copied from the engraved frontispiece of Vertumnus, An Epistle to Mr. Jacob Bobart, Botany Professor to the University of Oxford and Keeper of the Physic-Garden, a poem by Abel Evans, published at Oxford in 1713.

Le Corbeiller 1974, pp. 105-107, expands further on the subject, and illustrates an identical plate as well as the original engraving, fig. 57, which "is conjecturally the work of Michael Burghers (1653?-1727), who came to Oxford from his native Amsterdam in 1672 and was active as an illustrator of the Oxford almanacs," clearly understanding the iconography of his print of the Danby Gate, named for Henry Danvers (1573-1644) who became the Earl of Danby, and who founded Oxford's Botanical or 'Physic' Garden in 1621.  The same plate is illustrated by Hervouët and Bruneau, p. 241, no. 10.10; and another was in the collection of Dr. Anton C. R. Dreesmann, sold at Christie's in London on April 10, 2002.