A PAIR OF FAMILLE ROSE PRONK 'LA DAME AU PARASOL' PLATES Qianlong period, circa 1737 Painted in bright enamels with a an elegant lady standing under a parasol held by an attendant, the lady holding out a hand to four separate species of marsh birds, three walking on the bank before them, and a fourth, partially submerged with only tail feathers visible, feeding in the marsh behind, the four species mirrored in cartouches at the rim, as are the lady and the 'parasol' attendant, all on a cell ground in shades of primarily pink and blue, the shallow well with a band of composite flower groups, the reverse sides with eight equally-spaced penciled iron-red insects. 9in (23cm) diam (2). Footnotes: 乾隆時期 約1737年 粉彩普龍克《持傘美人》盤一對 In 1734 the directors of Holland's East Indian Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie: VOC) commissioned Amsterdam artist Cornelis Pronk (1691-1759) to create four patterns for Chinese porcelain. Pronk's drawings were sent to VOC headquarters in Batavia and then on to Canton in 1736. Using a 'Chinoiserie' vocabulary Pronk created distinctive scenes and motifs that were then produced by the Chinese workshops in Jingdezhen in a variety of types. The pattern first appeared in underglaze blue, then Chinese Imari, and finally in opaque enamels. The parasol or umbrella, in use in China for more than 2,000 years, and is included among the eight Buddhist symbols, was a conceit frequently used in chinoiserie motifs. For a lengthy and informative discussion of the use of documented patterns by Pronk, see William R. Sargent, Treasures of Chinese Export Ceramics from the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, 2012, pp. 275-293, no. 143; and further discussion of the Pronk workshop see Cohen & Cohen, Take Two!, 2017, pp. 122-123. For other examples, see Ronald W. Fuchs II (and David S. Howard), Made in China, Export Porcelain from the Leo and Doris Hodroff Collection at Winterthur, Delaware, 2005, p. 62, no. 24; Christiaan J. A. Jörg, Pronk Porselein/Pronk Porcelain, 1980; Cohen & Cohen, Hit & Myth, Antwerp, 2014-B, pp. 70-71, no. 39; and Cohen & Cohen, Baroque & Roll, Antwerp, 2015, pp. 110-111, no. 69. For a lengthy and informative discussion of the use of documented patterns by Pronk, see William R. Sargent, Treasures of Chinese Export Ceramics from the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, 2012, pp. 275-293, no. 143. See also another example sold at Christie's New York, 26 January 2015, lot 107.