A RARE LARGE 'EUROPEAN SUBJECT' MARITIME CHARGER FOR THE SWEDISH MARKET Qianlong period, circa 1750 Softly enameled principally in pale blue, green and sepia with a large central roundel depicting Neptune, classical God of the Seas, riding a large dolphin and brandishing his trident above wildly breaking waves in pursuit of a European merchant shop flying the Swedish flag at its stern, within bands of gilt spearheads, and rococo shellwork around the border. 15 1/4in (38.6cm) diam Footnotes: 乾隆時期 約1750年 稀有為瑞典市場製粉彩描金《歐洲神話》航海圖大盤 Published Cohen & Cohen, Hit & Myth, Antwerp, 2014-B, pp. 88-89, no. 50 出版： 倫敦Cohen & Cohen古董行，《Hit & Myth》，安特衛普，2014年-B，頁88-89，圖版編號50 This design is recorded also with the merchant ship flying alternatively a Danish or a Dutch flag. It has been suggested that dishes of the design were probably offered as a 'special order' to sailors in Canton, a souvenir of their visit with the flag of their own nation enameled in a final firing. The versions with Scandinavian flags have this border of shell scrolls, but the variant with a Dutch flag has a different border. The source of the image is unknown, but its slightly stiff composition indicates that it may have been a composite design drawn in Canton by an enterprising supercargo using earlier Western prints. Alternatively, it may have been inspired or adapted from another image of Neptune riding dolphins which is also known on Chinese export porcelain, taken from an engraving by Frederick Bloemaert after his father Abraham's painting 'The Triumph of Neptune'. (fig. 1) References: Wirgin 1998, no. 202, p.187, a dinner plate with a Swedish flag; Hervouet, p. 40, no. 2.13, an example with a Dutch flag and the different border; Mezin 2004, p. 94. This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ¤ ¤ Without reserve