A good Chinese export grisaille coffee cup & saucer, Qianlong

Code: 270605

A Chinese export coffee cup and saucer of fluted form, decorated en grisaille with fine line black and red enamel with a European scene, and dating from the Qianlong period.   Both the cup and saucer are decorated with a scene of two men in a landscape with buildings. One man is firing a bow and the other is holding a group of arrows upright. At the bottom is a curious figure of a young child wrapped perhaps in a net or a loose cloak.  An intriguing design. Saucer diameter is 11.9 cm, height is 6.3 cm.

A saucer with this design is shown in Hervouet & Bruneau's book 'La Porcelaine des Compagnies des Indes' figure 3.12.

Provenance: formerly in the collection of Dr Hardouin, Nantes.  A label for the Parisian dealer Jacqueline Polles on the base of the saucer.  

Date: Qianlong circa 1750.

Condition: both the cup and saucer are in very good condition.  There is a small glaze chip inside the rim of the cup.  No other damage and no restoration.  As can be appreciated from our photographs the enamels are also in very good condition.