A massive Chinese blue and white rectangular 'Chang'e' tray or plaque, 19th C.

Dim.: 63,8 x 47,5 x 3,7 cm

The scene depicts Chang’e, accompanied by a retinue of attendants—two playing flutes, and others carrying scrolls and fanning the lunar deity—beneath a large wutong tree. They are approaching the moon rabbit, surrounded by auspicious symbols and scholar’s objects. Below, two immortals appear, one of them pointing towards Chang’e, the entire scene set against a backdrop of swirling clouds.

Provenance: Holzapfel Collection, Geneva, Switzerland. The majority of the Holzapfel Oriental Ceramics collection was formed in England and Ireland during the late 1950s and 1960s. After Mr. Holzapfel's death, most of the collection passed to his ten children. In the early 1970s, two of his eldest sons significantly expanded their inherited shares to form their own collections. The tradition of collecting was carried on by one of Mr. Holzapfel’s grandsons, a member of the Oriental Ceramic Society, who lives in Switzerland. This piece was acquired by the Holzapfel family after 2005.