Armorial Plate "Vlaanderen", Chine de Commande, China

An Armorial Plate decorated in famille verte enamel. The centre shows the coat of arms of Flanders, with a banner underneath and surrounded by flowers, birds and butterflies. The rim is decorated with cartouches that are alternatingly filled with landscapes and figures and flowerpots.
These plates are known in three sizes of which this is the middle one. They belong to a series of 24 with the coats of arms of cities, regions and countries. The fact that different versions in decorations of the outer edges exist, imply that the series must have been very popular. The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has a similar plate of the same size and with the same decoration on the edge. This plate, however, shows the coat of arms of Amsterdam.
China of this type is known as Chine de Commande. The fact that the banners have names in Dutch suggests that they have been commissioned by clients in the Netherlands.

Literature:
C. Jörg, Chinese Ceramics in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam The Ming and Qing dynasties, Philip Wilson 1997, p. 317.