A Chinese verte-imari 'Governor Duff' plate

The couple depicted on the dish is often referred to as Governor Duff and his wife, which is the name the Chinese gave Diederick Duiver (1676-1740, Governor of the Dutch East India Company from 1729-1731), as they were unable to pronounce his name correctly. The same couple has also been described as Louis XIV and Mme de Montespan or simply a Frisian couple. Both D.F. Scheurleer and M. Beurdeley are in agreement, however, that the subject is Dutch rather than French. See further D.F.Lunsingh Scheurleer, Chinese Export Porcelain, London 1974, p.221, fig. 203; M. Beurdeley, Porzellan aus China, München 1962, p.198, fig. 192. Also see Christie's Amsterdam, 24 September 2002, lot 90, for a dish with a similar decoration.