A rare Chinese gilt-decorated grisaille 'Danae and Cupid' 10-piece service, Qianlong

L.: 19,8 cm - H.: 13,8 cm (the teapot)
Dia.: 12 cm - H.: 6,3 cm (the bowl)
Dia.: 11,9 cm (the saucers)
Dia.: 7,3 cm - H.: 4,2 cm (the cups)

Based on the engraving 'Danae' by the French engraver Gaspard Duchange, after the painting by Antonio Allegri da Correggio (1531). (see added images)

'The painting depicts the Greek mythological figure Danae, daughter of Acrisius, king of Argos, who is visited by Jupiter, who has been transformed into a shower of gold, which Cupid collects from among the sheets. As a result of this union, Perseus was born. On the right side of the painting, at the foot of the bed, two amoretti, holding an arrow, use a touchstone to test the endurance of love, which risks being corrupted by tact with gold. It is said that the building visible through the window is the unfurnished residence of Federico II Gonzaga at Marmirolo, near Mantua. A small landscape outside the window and the sunset, the beauty of which is enveloped in the woman’s room, the tranquility of colors convey the divine light that is about to appear with the arrival of the main god and illuminate Danae. The tender body of the latter and the whiteness of the sheets indicate that the beauty will soon fly away to the heavenly spaces.'
(Source: Borghese Gallery Rome, link - images courtesy of Harvard Art Museums and The British Museum - Research by Mr. L. Loose)

Ref.: Chazen Museum of Art, USA, Accession No. 1991.348a-b, for an identical cup and saucer. (link)

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(UV-checked)
- The teapot is generally in very good condition, with a small superficial chip on the rim and the rim of the spout. The finial of the cover with a glued break.
- The bowl is generally in very good condition, with a small superficial chip on the rim.
- Three cups are in excellent condition. One cup with two hairlines to the rim.
- One saucer is in excellent condition. One saucer with a small superficial chip on the rim. One saucer with a short glaze line on the bottom. One saucer with a star-shaped hairline in the center.

品相報告：（已用紫外線光檢查）
- 茶壺整體品相非常良好，口沿和壺嘴的口沿各有一個小飛皮。蓋子的蓋鈕斷粘。
- 碗的整體品相非常良好，口沿有一個小飛皮。
- 三個杯子全品，一個杯子的口沿有兩條衝線。
- 一個碟子全品，一個碟子的口沿有一個小飛皮，一個碟子的底部有一條短驚釉，一個碟子炸底。

Geschat: € 1000 - € 2000