Soup Plate

China

Qing dynasty (1644-1912), Qianlong period (1736-1795), About 1755

The Gourlays were from Fifeshire in east Scotland. This service was probably made for George Gourlay who married Margaret Robertson in 1757. Perhaps a wedding present, services such as this took several years to complete, from placing the order, sending it to China, making and decorating the pieces, and shipping them back to the buyers, at least two to three years were required.

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Octagonal butterfly lustre bowl with orange interior and mother-of-pearl exterior. The bowl has a solid golden trim on the upper and bottom rim. A wide golden geometric pattern (3.5cm) in the upper third is placed over blue glaze, intersected with four framed medallions showing Asian-inspired architecture and vegetation. The scene of the medallions on opposite sides are the same. A pattern of continuous husks of wheats is set underneath. The body of the bowl is decorated with four golden flying birds carrying a seated person on their back. Two of the birds have their necks retracted, the other two have an outstretched neck. The birds are alternated with a depiction of a rabbit on the remaining four plains of the bowl. A golden, endless Greek-key pattern decorates the bottom rim. The vibrant, mottled orange interior glaze is decorated with a wide golden trellis band (3cm) with blue bells hanging underneath. Three large, golden butterflies in different positons (open/closed wings) are alternating with three small, golden butterflies with open wings. Part of the butterflies are highlighted with red, green and blue glaze. The bottom of the bowl is decorated with a large golden rosette with red, green and blue glaze.
Vase with a bucket form and a tapered base. The exterior is decorated with dimensional bands throughout the form. The rim of the vase has a slightly pronounced lip. The interior is glazed an iron/dark red, which is interrupted at the base where the form begins to taper in.
Quiver vase of solid pale blue jasper with dark blue jasper dip, decorated with white jasper relief, mounted on circular base with stylized leafy border motifs, the body comprised of four columns, or shafts, the fronts and sides of which are molded with panels of horizontal fluting, in the center of each side a ring is attached from which dangles a bit of drapery, at the top of each shaft is a horizontal band of tiny overlapping shell elements and extending upward from the top of the vase are the feathered ends of arrows, or quivers, at the base of the body and spilling onto the circular base are thickly molded, applied leafy motifs and flowers, the domed cover, likewise of pale blue jasper with dark blue jasper dip, sits inside the quivers and has as its knop a pair of doves, or love birds, with wings outstretched and beaks touching, resting on white cloudy grounds.
Oval blue jasper medallion with white relief profile portrait of Aratus