Plate - Porcelain - Imari porcelain plate

Antique Chinese Imari porcelain plate – 18th Century (Qianlong)

Chinese Imari porcelain plate, circa 1736-1795. Hand-painted in the classic Imari colors: deep cobalt blue under glaze and iron red with subtle gold accents on top of the glaze. The plate features an elegant floral motif with flowers in the field and on the rim.

Made for the European market (VOC period). Diameter: 22 cm. In good antique condition with normal signs of aging. The gold decoration has faded over time. Includes metal plate hanger on the back.

The rim on which the plate sits (the stand ring) is rough. Hand-cut when the clay was still wet. Therefore the ring is never 100% perfectly symmetrical, unlike modern molds. If you look closely, you can see small black or brown dots and a light orange/brown discoloration along the edge of the glaze. These are baked-in iron and metal oxides from the clay and remnants of kiln sand.

If you hold the plate up to the light, you often see tiny black specks in the white areas (so-called 'firing or kiln flaws') or a minuscule irregularity. In the 18th century the clay and the kilns could not be filtered as sterilely as today. This kind of small cosmetic imperfections belong to genuine antique pieces.