QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795), CIRCA 1745

The highly unusual decoration of the 'Trumpeter' pattern has often been grouped with the Cornelis Pronk designs for the Dutch East India Co. on the basis of its stylistic detail. Although it was not an officially commissioned Pronk design, it may well have been a private order. See D. Howard & J. Ayers, China For the West, London, 1978, I, p. 305. For similar 'Trumpeter' tea pieces from the collection of Mary Viscountess Rothermere see Christie's, New York, 16 April 1994, lots 30-32.