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Rare Jacobite Rising Dish

Qianlong Period c.1744.
Porcelain, overglaze enamels.
Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, China.
D: 23cm

Provenance:
• South African Family Collection.

SKU: 5899 Categories: ,

Designs to commemorate Western political events were sent to China in the 18th century. The tragic memory of the Jacobite Rising of 1745 in Scotland is evoked by plates decorated with Scottish soldiers in kilts, directly copied from prints and/or engravings of 1743 by George Bickham, which illustrate the 1st rebellion of the Highland regiment on 18th July 1743 as the regiment attempted to restore the descendants of the House of Stuart. A piper named Macdonald, believed to be the one depicted on the plate was sent to Georgia as a convict. Plates depicting the Jacobite rising are very rare, as they were ordered before 1745 and only arrived after the rebellion was completely annihilated. A Chinese border surrounds the Scottish theme. The plate was made in Jingdezhen and then decorated in Guangzhou.

  • A pair of plates with the same design is in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, Accession: 62.125.1 and Accession: 62.125.2.
  • Another closely related example is in the Peabody Essex Museum, U.K. Museum no: AE85761
  • And also in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Museum number:C.29-1951.