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Lot Essay
These tulipières are modelled after originals in Dutch Delft by Adriaen Kocx (fl. 1686-1701) who was director of the De Grieksche A factory. Kocx was particularly inspired in his designs by Kangxi porcelain, but it would appear that the painting on these Chinese examples copied his larger Delft versions. He signed his work AK until his death in 1701, when his son Pieter took over the factory and used the signature PAK (also referred to as APK).
Examples in Chinese export porcelain are very rare, especially pairs. They faithfully copy the Dutch prototypes including, in most instances, Adriaen Kocx's marks (and very occasionally PAK [APK] marks for Pieter Kocx) on the bases. A pair, one of which bears the AK mark as in the current lot, is illustrated by Bo Gyllensvärd, Porslinet fran Kina, Västeras, 1990, p. 65, fig. 112. Single Chinese examples are in the Groninger Museum, also with AK mark, exhibited in Interaction in ceramics: oriental porcelain & Delftware, The Urban Council, Hong Kong and the Consulate-General of The Netherlands, 1984, and was illustrated by C.J.A. Jörg, exhibition catalogue, p.76, no. 33; for another (or maybe the same one) in the Groninger Museum, but apparently with the mark PAK [APK], see D. F. Lunsingh Scheurleer, Chinese Export Porcelain – Chine de Commande, London, 1974, fig. 108; another (with AK mark) is in the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, illustrated by William Sargent, Treasures of Chinese Export Ceramics, 2012, p.130, no.40; and yet another example is in the Gemeentemuseum, Den Haag, also with AK mark, and is illustrated by Jan van Campen and Titu Eliëns (eds.), Chinese and Japanese porcelain for the Dutch Golden Age, 2014, p. 245, fig. 16 and front cover. See W. Motley, of Cohen & Cohen, Think Pink, Reigate, 2013 for a discussion on both Chinese and Dutch delft tulipières, as well as the 'tulipmania' of the late 16th-early 17th century.
Examples in Chinese export porcelain are very rare, especially pairs. They faithfully copy the Dutch prototypes including, in most instances, Adriaen Kocx's marks (and very occasionally PAK [APK] marks for Pieter Kocx) on the bases. A pair, one of which bears the AK mark as in the current lot, is illustrated by Bo Gyllensvärd, Porslinet fran Kina, Västeras, 1990, p. 65, fig. 112. Single Chinese examples are in the Groninger Museum, also with AK mark, exhibited in Interaction in ceramics: oriental porcelain & Delftware, The Urban Council, Hong Kong and the Consulate-General of The Netherlands, 1984, and was illustrated by C.J.A. Jörg, exhibition catalogue, p.76, no. 33; for another (or maybe the same one) in the Groninger Museum, but apparently with the mark PAK [APK], see D. F. Lunsingh Scheurleer, Chinese Export Porcelain – Chine de Commande, London, 1974, fig. 108; another (with AK mark) is in the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, illustrated by William Sargent, Treasures of Chinese Export Ceramics, 2012, p.130, no.40; and yet another example is in the Gemeentemuseum, Den Haag, also with AK mark, and is illustrated by Jan van Campen and Titu Eliëns (eds.), Chinese and Japanese porcelain for the Dutch Golden Age, 2014, p. 245, fig. 16 and front cover. See W. Motley, of Cohen & Cohen, Think Pink, Reigate, 2013 for a discussion on both Chinese and Dutch delft tulipières, as well as the 'tulipmania' of the late 16th-early 17th century.