Antique Chinese Export 'Blue Fitzhugh' Platters From the Cabot-Perkins Service- Set of 2

Details

Description

An extremely rare and wonderful set of two blue-and-white Chinese export porcelain graduated platters of large size from the famous … Read more An extremely rare and wonderful set of two blue-and-white Chinese export porcelain graduated platters of large size from the famous "Cabot-Perkins" service commissioned in 1812. The underglaze deep blue "Fitzhugh" pattern variant on white porcelain oval body having trellis pattern border surrounding field with peony and foliate sprays around central pagoda in landscape. Sizes: 20.25" x 17.5" and 18.82" x 16.13".

Made for the 1812 wedding of Doctor Samuel Cabot and Elizabeth Perkins of Boston, Massachusetts and believed to have been ordered by Thomas Perkins, the bride's father and prominent China Trader, this service is unique in displaying the pagoda motif, probably inspired by the Whampoa Pagoda, a Ming dynasty structure on the Pearl River that was an iconic landmark for American, English, and European China traders. These exceptional and exceptionally rare platters are the largest of the set and are now offered for the first time, having remained in the family until now. The last other pieces known to have been offered publicly were from a January 28th, 2013 Christie's New York "English Pottery and Chinese Export Art" sale, lot 459, which consisted of a fruit bowl and six soup bowls, all with condition faults, that brought $18,750.

Provenance: Through his heirs, the estate of distinguished Boston lawyer and author Charles Pelham Curtis (1891-1959), a direct descendent of the Cabot-Perkins family. See less