Of barbed and lobed outline, enameled with the classic pattern in vivid famille rose colors, underglaze blue and gilt, a very large passion flower in pink and yellow shown against the leaves.
Of barbed and lobed outline, enameled with the classic pattern in vivid famille rose colors, underglaze blue and gilt, a very large passion flower in pink and yellow shown against the leaves.
Popularly known as the “Tobacco Leaf” pattern, the decoration on this plate exhibits some of the finest enameling and design known on eighteenth century export ware. As Howard and Ayers note, the distinctive leaves might not be those of the tobacco plant. They possibly derive instead from the “thick, tropical, variegated-leaf foliage of Southern Asia and the pacific”, while the blossoms almost certainly are hibiscus and passion flowers. At least, five principal variants of the “Tobacco leaf” motif are known, there are also a number of minor variants.
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