Verdant Splendor: Chinese Export "Pseudo Tobacco Leaf" Oval Dish

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Description

Verdant Splendor: Chinese Export "Pseudo Tobacco Leaf" Oval Dish

This vibrant Chinese Export porcelain oval dish, dating from circa 1765, … Read more Verdant Splendor: Chinese Export "Pseudo Tobacco Leaf" Oval Dish

This vibrant Chinese Export porcelain oval dish, dating from circa 1765, presents a magnificent and early variation of one of the most celebrated export patterns: the "Pseudo Tobacco Leaf" design. This decorative style, sometimes referred to as "Red Tobacco Leaf," is highly prized for its rich, dynamic composition and use of color.

Design and Decoration
The dish is intensely decorated with bold, oversized foliage and flowers, characteristic of the Tobacco Leaf family of patterns, yet distinct in its specific arrangement and palette. The painterly details include:

Vibrant Foliage: Large, prominent leaves are rendered in striking, bright shades of green and deep brown and pink, filling the white ground.

Florals: Oversized orange flower heads provide a dramatic contrast to the cool green leaves.

The Cut Fruit: A particularly interesting feature is the inclusion of a central, stylized round of cut fruit (perhaps a melon or pomegranate), rendered in vivid green and orange with complex sectioning, adding an element of trompe l'oeil and visual intrigue.

Border: The rim is finished with a thin line of iron red, typical of the mid-18th century.

This variation's composition is less defined by the overlapping "leaves" of the standard Tobacco Leaf pattern and more by a dense, free-flowing arrangement of large, polychrome botanical elements, making it an especially interesting and early example of the style.

Historical Context and Provenance
The Tobacco Leaf pattern was a tremendously popular decorative scheme on Chinese Export porcelain during the mid-18th century, commissioned by affluent European and American families. These pieces—hand-painted at the kilns near Jingdezhen—perfectly captured the Western desire for exotic, heavily detailed, and colorful tableware. The "Pseudo Tobacco Leaf" and "Red Tobacco Leaf" variations signify an earlier stage of the pattern's development before it became standardized.

Provenance: The dish comes from a Private Collection and bears the label of Fred B. Nadler Antiques, who specialized in fine Chinese Export porcelain, confirming its reputable history in the American antiques market.

Dimensions: 11 1/2 inches wide ×9 1/21 inches deep ×1 1/2 inches high (29.21cm wide ×24.13cm deep).

Reference Notes
• Pattern Identification: The classification of this pattern as "Pseudo Tobacco Leaf" or "Red Tobacco Leaf" is supported by the scholarship of: Debomy, Pierre L., Tobacco Leaf and Pseudo: A Tentative Inventory, with this specific variation illustrated on Page 206–209.
• Dating: The style of painting and the specific color palette places the dish firmly within the Qianlong period, circa 1765, when Famille Rose enamels were being used with dramatic effect for export wares.

(Ref: NY10719-nnrr) See less