Antique Chinese Qing Famille Rose Canton Plate Courtyard Scene 8″W

Chinese Qing Dynasty Rose Canton (廣彩) Famille Rose Porcelain Plate: Courtyard Garden Scene

China, Qing dynasty, mid-to-late 19th century (circa 1850-1890)

Dimensions: 8″W × 1″H (20.5 × 2.5 cm)

This is a Chinese export porcelain plate in the Rose Canton palette (廣彩), a famille rose variant that reserves all figural painting for the central medallion and keeps the border to flowers and birds only. The wide gilt-rimmed roundel at center depicts a courtyard scene: a seated dignitary beneath a canopy attended by robed figures, with a scholar kneeling before an open book beside a garden stream.

The border alternates scalloped panels of peonies and chrysanthemums with small birds and butterflies on a white ground, closed by a gilt key-fret band at the rim. Dense, jewel-toned enamels and heavy gilding were the hallmark of Canton export workshops supplying the Western trade through the second half of the 19th century.

Form: Chinese Rose Canton famille rose porcelain plate, shallow footed
Construction or Decoration: Famille rose overglaze enamels with gilt highlights; central medallion of courtyard figures, gilt key-fret rim band, alternating floral and bird border panels
Mark:
Period: Qing dynasty, mid-to-late 19th century (circa 1850-1890)
Dimensions: 8″W × 1″H (20.5 × 2.5 cm)
Weight:
Condition: No chips and a single short hairline visible in photos; enamels and gilding show light wear consistent with age. Footrim shows an unglazed edge with minor kiln grit adhesion and hand-finished irregularity, consistent with 19th-century manufacture rather than later reproduction.