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I recently purchased this plate. It is about 9 inches wide and has the standard Mandarin decoration. It has an old staple repair. I believe it is Qianlong period, perhaps 1760s-1780s or so. Is this correct?

Thank you

Bokaba

I believe your attribution is correct. Second half of the eighteenth century.The interlocking "keys" background suggests a date closer to the 1770s.When I have a plate with staples and stained old repair lines, I soak the plate in warm water. This should loosen the old joints,remove the staples and separate the pieces. After soaking the parts in a diluted bleach solution, the parts can easily be repaired with a modern ceramic-use epoxy and almost invisible lines result. A restorer would charge a minimal amount to do this. Or,you could just enjoy it as is. A nice plate with good character in the faces.

According to Tony Allen, as noted in "Allen's Antique Porcelain - The Detection of Fakes", this palette appeared in the late 3rd quarter of the 18th century. He also illustrates examples, including a teapot with the same Y-cell diaper, which pieces date to the fourth quarter of the 18th century. I've seen examples of the pattern in cabinets at Mount Vernon, the estate that was home to the USA's first president George Washington (1732 - 1799), whose term ran from April 30, 1789 – March 4, 1797. While not all of the household items seen in Washington's mansion belonged to him personally, they were selected by conservators of the estate as consistent with his period and the possessions he was know to have had.

Some sellers on the web try to describe the motif on your plate as being the "Rockefeller Pattern", but in my opinion, the classic "Rockefeller Pattern" has much in the way of opulent gilding on its borders. As an example, I've included a photo of a couple of soup cups I have in a variant of the Rockefeller pattern with the gilding but no Y-cells. The figures on the sides are, I think, clearly more consistent with Jiaqing porcelains made during the first quarter of the 19th century.

Best regards,

Bill H.

Thanks again for your excellent help Bill. I was able to find a wash basin and jug with the Mandarin pattern with the Y-cell pattern from the Mount Vernon Museum acquired by Washington around 1775.

How do you like the Allen Detection of Fakes book? I am thinking of getting a copy.

Bokaba

URL Title :Mount Vernon

Based on the faces, I think we can also date from around 1760s to 1780s, probably around 1775.

Bokaba

I am amazed that the submitter of the plate photo in question chose to ignore my response. I have been collecting Chinese export porcelain since 1973. When I narrowed down the years of probable manufacture to the 1770's,and gave advice on possible restoration based on my private collection of over 250 18th century pieces, I did not expect the response to be channeled only to another reviewer. Maybe it is time to put my "two cents" in elsewhere.

I am sorry to have offended you. Your expertise is much appreciated. The long moderation time makes having back and forth discussion difficult here.

Bokaba

Plasticman, I can't imagine anyone who has benefited from your wisdom, such as I and most other porcelain collectors around here have on a regular basis, would relish the thought of your absence from our midst for any reason. Without mentors like yourself, some of us probably would never get over that phase of thinking there's got to be a golden shortcut waiting to be discovered out there for succinctly dating pieces in our collections without a large amount of bun-busting homework.

Best regards,

Bill H.

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