A Chinese rose-Imari 'Provinces' barber's basin

At least five series of dishes, plates and barber's basins were made in the 1720's depicting the arms of Holland, England, France, Luxembourg, and numerous Dutch and Flemish provinces and cities. Twenty-three different arms appear to be recorded, although there is no documentary evidence to prove that each series comprised quite as many different examples, and judging by the spelling of the names, it is likely they were made to Dutch order. For a discussion on these series, see C. Le Corbeilller, China Trade Porcelain: Patterns of Exchange, New York, 1974, pp. 38 and 39.
One of the series is decorated in the famille verte palette, two in the verte-Imari palette, one in rose-verte, and, as in the present example, one in the rose-Imari palette, although this series would appear to be primarily barber's bowls. The shapes of the other series vary from small moulded dishes to large chargers of circa 47 cm. diam. and to barber's bowls.