Saucer-dish with an image of The Arbour c. 1740 - 1760

This anonymous porcelain saucer-dish, dated c. 1740-1760, features a central image of a group of figures gathered beneath an arbour. The intricate border is composed of repeating motifs of flowers, butterflies, and fruits in a vibrant palette of green, pink, and blue. The delicate, hand-painted style of the imagery is characteristic of the popular European taste for chinoiserie, which imitated the aesthetics of Chinese art and design. The saucer-dish, currently housed in the Rijksmuseum, is a prime example of this trend and showcases the fascination with East Asian art and culture that pervaded Europe during this period.