Chinese ‘Batavian’ tea bowl, brown glaze with flowers inside, c.1750

$195.00 AUD

Chinese Export ‘Batavian’ tea bowl, the exterior with a rich brown glaze, the interior with stylised flowers & a butterfly within a trellis border, in underglaze blue and iron red.

Circa 1750

5.5cm Wide

Condition: restored hairline and chip to rim

 

These brown-glaze wares are not common compared to blue & white wares, and appear to have been fashionable for a short period, the 1750’s. Their name comes from the Dutch trading settlement in the far east, Batavia. They are based on an earlier, paler brown-exterior export porcelain from the Kanxi period. The most famous source of these brown wares was the Gotheborg, a Swedish East India Company ship that made the voyage to China, returning full of trade goods in 1745 only to flounder at the entrance of the harbour of its destination, Gothenborg. Items began to be recovered from the late 19th century and sold throughout Europe. The 1980’s recovery from the Geldermalsen (1752) brought another large number to the market.  Elsewhere, they are not common; one suggestion is they were considered to be ‘Tavern Wares’, ie not private pieces that would be cared for, but everyday commercial wares, and therefore their rates of survival were poor.

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Chinese 'Batavian' tea bowl, brown glaze with flowers inside, c.1750 quantity

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