Bidspirit auction | Blue & White Tea Cultivation

Blue & White Tea Cultivation Plate - Chinese export blue and white porcelain plate, Qianlong ca. 1740. Decorated along the center with a scene of tea production: three figures navigate bales of tea down the river to Canton. Numbered 15 along the back. From a series of plates, two of which reside in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (13 & 21). Illustrated in Howard, ”Choice of the Private Trader, ” pg. 84, no. 69. Provenance: Christie's, London, ”Fine Chinese Export Porcelain and Works of Art, ” 31 October 1988, Lot 198; The Distinguished Collection of Leo & Doris Hodroff. Reference: Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession numbers 1971.32.1 & 1971.32.2. Howard & Ayers, ”China for the West, ” pg. 214-15, no. 11 & 23. Diameter: 9 in. Condition: There are no restorations. There is a crack extending from the rim down to the footrim. Small chips and frits to the rim. Light wear to the footrim. Some light surface wear consistent with light use.