A Chinese famille rose Pronk 'Arbour' plate

The Dutch draughtsman, Cornelis Pronk (1691-1754), was commissioned by directors of the Dutch East India Company in 1734 to produce designs to be transferred on to Chinese porcelain which they hoped would be more successful than Chinese designs. However, due to the expense of transferring his designs onto porcelain, the volume of Pronk's work is relatively small, and his designs ceased in 1738. This is Pronk's fourth and last certain design for the Dutch East India Company, and was drawn in 1737.