A RARE FAMILLE ROSE 'EUROPEAN SUBJECT' PLATE AFTER ALBANI'S 'EARTH' Qianlong period, circa 1750 Amusingly enameled in bright colors with a European mythological scene derived from Albani's 'Earth', the center with three female and one male figure, variously robed and unrobed, riding a chariot pulled by lions with six putti dispersed before them, a large leafy tree to one side and a river landscape in the background, the rim with a dense blue-scroll border, the reverse plain. 9in (22.7cm) diam Footnotes: 乾隆時期 約1750年 粉彩繪《歐洲人物故事》阿爾巴尼之《大地》圖盤 Published Cohen & Cohen, Tyger Tyger!, Antwerp, 2016, pp. 120-121, no. 53 出版： 倫敦Cohen & Cohen古董行，《Tyger Tyger!》，安特衛普，2016年，頁120-121，圖版編號53 The scene depicts 'Earth' from a print source after the oil painting by Francisco Albani (1578–16 60), one of a series depicting the 'Four Elements', painted between 1625-1628 for the Cardinal of Savoy, later King of Sardinia, and which are now in the Galleria Sabauda, Turin. (fig. 1) Cybele is seated in her chariot surrounded by personifications of the three seasons: Flora as Spring, Ceres as Summer, and Bacchus as Autumn. Harsh 'Winter' was absent as Albani intended to flatter the Cardinal's sunny disposition. All four designs are known on Chinese plates and tea wares. There appear to have been two special commissions for these plates, one with the blue border as in this lot, and the other with a gilt foliage rim. (see lot 141) There are also differences in the placement of the composition within the circle, suggesting a different workshop or set of painters for each order. Sets of these four oil paintings were engraved by many different artists. The series was issued by Jacques Chereau, Nicolas de Larmessin IV, or Nicoloas Dauphin de Beauvais, any of their versions could have been taken to China, but Chereau seems the most likely source. Other prints by Chereau and Larmessin are known on export porcelain. See lot 141 for this pattern with a gilt scrolling foliage border, and for background information and references. Two very similar plates with blue borders sold at Christie's New York, 20 January 2016, lot 70, from the Miller Collection; and 17 January 2018, lot 79, from the sale of export art from the Marchant Firm, established in 1925. Another pair can be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. References: Mezin, 2002, nos. 67-70, pp. 86-9, four plates with each of the scenes and an illustration of a set of engravings by Nicolas IV de Larmessin; Williamson, 1970, plate XXXIX, four plates including 'Earth' with gilt rim border and plate XXIV, a teapot with this design; Howard, 1994, p. 111; Beurdeley, 1962, p. 179; Hervouët & Bruneau, 1986, pp. 318-9; Jörg, 1989, pp. 174-5; Le Corbeiller, 1974, pp. 64-5; Sargent, 2012, p. 29; Palmer, 1976, p. 71; Howard & Ayers, 1978, pp. 323; Gordon, 1984, no. 46; Puglisi, 1999, p. 144, cat. 60, for the series and note of two further engravers; Scheurleer, 1974, no. 232; Pinto de Matos, 2011, Vol. 2, no. 320, p. 228, for a plate and illustration of the de Beauvais print version; Cunha Alves, 2016, no. 76, p. 134, a tea bowl and saucer with this design. This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ¤ ¤ Without reserve