A CHINESE EXPORT TEABOWL AND SAUCER circa 1770

each painted with a scene of the Cape of Good Hope: four Dutch ships in the harbor at Cape Town with Devil's Peak, Table Mountain. Lions' Head and Signal Hill in the distance, the interior rim with an iron-red and grisaille cell diaper border reserved with four panels of gilt floral devices.  The teabowl with hair cracks and the saucer with touched-up chips.

London, A Tale of Three Cities, 1997, no. 22

David Howard, A Tale of Three Cities: Canton, Shanghai & Hong Kong, pp. 32 and 33, no. 22

Both with serious wear to the gilt rim edge, the teabowl with a 3/4-inch haircrack between table mountain and right flag, a 7/8-inch haircrack to left of table mountain, inner border gilding worn; the saucer with six minor repaired chips around the edge, a 4mm chip at 6 o'clock, Sotheby's London label on base of saucer.
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.

The roadstead at Table Bay on the Cape of Good Hope was a popular subject, particularly for the Dutch market, and Woodward, who discusses its depiction on Chinese export porcelain, illustrates on pp. 132, 134 and 136, ills. 153. 156 and 157, respectively, three differently bordered plates all showing views of the Dutch fleet in Table Bay.

A similarly decorated teabowl and saucer are illustrated by Litzenburg and Bailey, p. 207, no. 208, and in the Reeves Collection, p. 17, color pl. I, no. 2; a saucer is illustrated by Hervouët and Bruneau, p. 39, no. 2.10; a coffee cup, teabowl and saucer are illustrated by Jörg 1997, p. 293, no. 342b, along with a similarly decorated plate, no. 342a; the center of a plate is illustrated by Hyde, Silva and Malta, pl. 6, no. VI; and a teabowl is illustrated by Lange, p. 185, no. 66, who comments that although the harbor was known to the Portuguese seafarers, it was the Dutch who founded Capetown in 1652, "and made it a port of call available to ships of all nations.  Capetown, known as the 'Tavern of the Two Seas,' supplied vital provisions to China trade vessels rounding the Cape of Good Hope."