A VERY RARE FAMILLE ROSE 'DON QUIXOTE' TEABOWL AND SAUCER Qianlong period, circa 1745 Enameled across the saucer and around the cup's exterior principally in vivid shades of pink, grey, yellow and green with a scene from the famous Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes, 'The ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote', the bumbling romantic knight mounted in full armor on his sturdy steed roaming Spain in search of chivalrous escapades accompanied by his roguish servant Sancho Panza. the saucer: 5 1/4in (13.5cm) diam Footnotes: 乾隆時期 約1745年 珍稀粉彩《堂吉訶德》茶盞托盤一組 Published: Cohen & Cohen, Baroque and Roll, Antwerp, 2015, pp. 92-93, no. 59 出版： 倫敦Cohen & Cohen古董行，《Baroque and Roll》，安特衛普，2015年，頁92-93，圖版編號59 In this scene Quixote has encountered a barber who is holding a basin over his head to shelter from the rain (the woman on the left appears to be sheltering herself with her cloak too). With his characteristic ability to conjure up heroic adventures out of the mundane, Quixote has assumed the basin to be the 'Helmet of Mambrino', a legendary possession of a Moorish King, made of pure gold and rendering the wearer invulnerable. The scene is based on an imaginative design by Charles-Antoine Coypel (1694-1752) originally for the Gobelins tapestry factory. Images by Coypel were engraved by a number of artists including Louis Surugue, Gerard Vendergucht and Jacob Folkema. (fig. 1) The Vandergucht series of engravings was used for an early English edition published around 1732. This design is one of the most sought after by collectors of European subjects on Chinese export porcelain. It is now thought that three services may have been ordered, the first in 1745, as here, just after the Jacob Folkema or Jan Van der Gucht print was published, the second about 1750 and the third sometime between 1755 and 1770. For further discussion, see Cohen & Cohen, Baroque & Roll, Antwerp, 2015, pp. 94-95, no. 60. The story is popular and emblematic of all that Quixote represents. Don Quixote is a hero for any age but especially for ours. He has a huge imagination nurtured by reading many books and his innocence and excitement at the prospect of adventure appears as madness to the 'gray' people around him. He has his own code: an ancient one of morality and honor, the code of Chivalry, and he sets out bravely to rectify the wrongs he encounters. For a very similar example, see Cohen & Cohen, The Golden Gate Collection, Antwerp, 2018, pp. 58-59, no. 45