A superb quality Chinese export plate circa 1745-1750, decorated in fine black line style known as en grisaille or encre de Chine, additionally with rouge de fer enamel and gilding, taken from a series of European subject scenes popular in the 18th century, possibly after an engraving by Bernard Picard (1673-1733) a French artist who worked in Amsterdam. The central roundel depicts a young woman ( the seamstress) wearing a gilt dress embroidered with a floral motif and lace collar and flowers in her hair holding needle and thread sewing a garment strewn across her lap. She is seated near a window whose drapery has been pulled back giving her a clear view of the harbor scene in the distance. A narrow band of rouge de fer enamel and gilt dot pattern encircles the rim, the cavetto with a grisaille cell-diaper patterned border with a gilt surround undulating to form cusped arches above the central medallion. This scene exhibits the skill with which Chinese artisans reproduced the effect of European engravings, and great care is shown in its details, from the fine cross-hatching to the use of two shades of gilding on the dress. 

The "Seamstress" pattern is known as one of the "gallant and idyllic" group of scenes copied onto porcelain from European prints sent to China by Western clients (some other groups included portraiture, armorial, mythological, and religious engravings). The idyllic scenes conveyed a romantic view of nature, domestic scenes, and solitary repose. In a classic example of design influences exchanged in the China Trade, the design on this plate was likely copied by the Chinese directly from porcelain produced by the Meissen factory in Germany, and was destined for the Dutch market.
清代 Qing Dynasty, 乾隆 Qianlong Period (1736-1795)
Diameter:  9" (22.8 cm)
Condition: Excellent,  with a small kiln grit on the circular frame around the seamstress figure, a tiny glaze flaw on the rim and wear to the enamels as shown.
Provenance:  From the a private French collection.
Reference: Two similar plates are illustrated in Hervouet and Bruneau, La Pocelaine des Compagnies des Indes a Decor Occidental, Paris, 1986, pg. 131, figs. 6.47 and 6.48 for two plates with similar design. A tea-service decorated with the 'Seamstress' is in the Helena Woolworth McCann Collection, illustrated by J. G. Phillips, China-Trade Porcelain, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1956, pg. 140, pl. 58, and a plate, pg.75, color pl. 9.
Please refer to item #EX-223 when inquiring.