Description
This dish has a round mouth, a shallow folded rim, and is bordered by a raised gilded copper edge. Along the rim, relief-painted gold scroll patterns are interspersed with five little angels holding blue, white, red, yellow, and purple ribbons. The center of the dish introduces Western architectural scenes and shepherds, likely related to illustrated books and block prints brought to China by European missionaries. Jesuit painters incorporated Western customs and religious themes including the Madonna and Child, A Shepherd with His Flocks (symbolizing Jesus Christ and his followers), and churches into their craftworks. Such artistic integration sparked interest in Western objects among the Qing dynasty imperial family. Around the center of the dish are intertwined rope patterns, with the outer wall in black enamel and painted with two rings of gold scrollwork. The base has a black and white gradient, decorated with Western patterns and red bats. A central flower is painted with the inscription “Made during the Qianlong era” written in Song dynasty style script. The black base with gold outlining, intertwined rope patterns, and the base decorative scheme of this dish all mirror the style of 16th-century French Limoges enamelware, while the inclusion of Chinese elements such as bats and lingzhi gives this piece a distinctive East-West blended style.