Plate (one of a pair)

Art Historical Context

This exquisite plate, one of a pair, showcases the artistry of Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer, a renowned 17th-century French painter celebrated for his vibrant floral still lifes. Produced around 1735–40, it exemplifies Chinese hard-paste porcelain export ware, meticulously crafted for Western markets—possibly Scotland. Measuring just under 2 inches high and 15 inches across, its delicate form and gilded accents highlight the technical mastery of Jingdezhen kilns, where true porcelain was first perfected centuries earlier. The plate's floral motifs, drawn from Monnoyer's intricate designs, reflect the 18th-century craze for chinoiserie in Europe. Chinese artisans adapted European artistic influences onto their superior porcelain, blending Eastern precision with Western tastes for opulent decoration. Gilding enhances the blooming flowers, adding a luxurious shimmer that would have graced dining tables or decorative displays in elite Scottish homes. As part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's European Sculpture and Decorative Arts collection, this piece from the Helena Woolworth McCann Collection illuminates global trade networks and cross-cultural exchange, where porcelain became a canvas for artistic fusion. A testament to enduring elegance!

About the Artist

Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer · 1636–1699

Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer (1636-1699) was a Franco-Flemish painter who became the most distinguished and formative still life and flower painter of the French Baroque period. Born in Lille, he trained in Antwerp where he absorbed the techniques of Flemish masters before moving to Paris by 1650. Patronized by Charles Le Brun, Louis XIV's Minister of Arts, Monnoyer worked extensively on decorative pain...