A Capodimonte porcelain large dish, the porcelain circa 1750, the decoration 19th century

G. Dreyfus, Esq., sold Replica Shoes 's, London, 23 May 1967, lot 71 (to Winifred Williams);

The Property of Mrs. M.A. Stevens, sold Christie's, London, 30 June 1975, lot 56;

Anonymous sale, Christie’s, New York, 24 May 2000, lot 136.

F. Stazzi, L'arte della ceramica, Capodimonte, Milan, 1972, p. 251, pl. 48 and p. 164.

This dish, distinguished by its large scale, is painted with a view of the Port of Naples, showing the Castel Nuovo, the Royal Palace and the Santa Lucia district, the perspective drawing the eye back to the setting sun on the horizon. It falls into a small group of wares with similar borders incorporating fruit and vegetables in a soft palette that were decorated in the second half of the 19th century. For a discussion of the defining characteristics of this group see A. Caròla-Perrotti, Le Porcellane dei Borbone di Napoli, Capodimonte e Real Fabbrica Ferdinandea, 1743-1806, exhibition catalogue, Naples 1986, pp. 279-278, and cat. nos. 212-214, for the three plates painted with figure subjects within similar borders, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. The Neapolitan scene was probably taken from an engraving, and a late 18th century engraving featuring elements of the scene on this dish is known. Interestingly the painter has confused the order of the stripes of the Dutch flag, reversing the red and blue. Another dish of the same form and size, similarly painted with a different view of Naples, with ruins in the foreground and an almost corresponding border, was sold in the same sale as the present example, at Replica Shoes 's, London, on 23 May 1967, lot 72. Both examples are illustrated by F. Stazzi, L'arte della ceramica, Capodimonte, Milan, 1972, p. 251, pl. 48 (the present lot) and p. 250, pl. 47 (the latter), and mentioned on p. 164.