Cup and saucer

1740 - 1740

This so-called 'violet plume' may have been designed by Cornelis Pronk and his workshop. All the known pieces with this decoration are part of a tea service. They are preserved in (among other places) the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and the Metropolitan Museum in New York. The Dutchman Cornelis Pronk (1691-1759) was taken into the service of the Dutch East India Company (V.O.C.) in 1734 for (at least) three years to produce sketches that were shipped to China for reproduction on porcelain. Though the products were in great demand, the cooperation between the V.O.C. and Pronk was not extended after that first period, for the soaring costs outweighed the selling price of the porcelain. The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has the only two sketches attributed to Cornelis Pronk. For further information about Cornelis Pronk, see C.J.A. Jörg, Pronk porselein. Porselein naar ontwerpen van Cornelis Pronk, Groningen, 1980.

• Actors

  Pronck, Cornelis (Designer)

• Places and dates

  China, 1740? - 1740? (Production)

• Materials

  Porcelain

• Category

  Vessels

• Object number

  S75/106

• IPR status

  Public domain