A Chinese porcelain Dutch-decorated bowl and milk jug 1st half 18th century

A Chinese porcelain Dutch-decorated bowl and milk jug 1st half 18th century, each with anhua decoration, the bowl with narrow hatched bands in underglaze blue, later painted in Holland with the 'Cherry Picker' pattern, a man in a windswept coat and black breeches standing on a ladder and picking fruit from heavy laden branches, the reverse with lovers enjoying a basket of fruit, the bowl's interior with a basket of flowers, 14.6cm max. (2)

Provenance: the Helen Espir Collection, nos. 344 and 409.

This particular pattern, also known as the Apple Picker pattern, is discussed in European Decoration on Oriental Porcelain, pp.165-166. Traditionally thought to be merely an erotic allusion to stolen fruit, credence has also been given to a theory that the fruit in the tree is actually oranges, and the young couple William and Anne enjoying the early years of their marriage.