A CHINESE OVAL ENAMEL PLAQUE QIANLONG 1736-95 Decorated in famille rose enamels depicting...

A CHINESE OVAL ENAMEL PLAQUE

QIANLONG 1736-95

Decorated in famille rose enamels depicting Vertumnus and Pomona watched by Cupid, the concave side painted en grisaille with Venus and Cupid, 7.2cm.

Vertumnus, the god of the seasons, possessed the ability to alter his form at will. In Ovid's Metamorphoses, he tricked Pomona into talking to him by using this power to disguise himself as an old woman. After gaining entry to her orchard, Vertumnus warned Pomona of the dangers of rejecting a suitor in order to seduce her.