A pair of Chinese blue and white octagonal plates with stilt houses in front of a city (possibly Guangzhou), Qianlong

Dimensions:

Dia.: 24 cm

Literature:

W.R. Sargent, Treasures of Chinese export ceramics from the Peabody Essex Museum, New Haven, 2012, pp. 144-145 (fig. 51: a similar tureen on stand). Recently has been suggested that the scene is a view of Guangzhou (Canton) because of three landmarks in the landscape: the Flowery Pagoda, the Plain Tower and the Watchtower. However, this Pagoda is placed on the left when in Guangzhou it is on the right and it is not possible to explain the absence of the Hongs, which, at the time, were the main landmark of Guangzhou.