BLUE NANKING DEMITASSE CUP AND SAUCER, SET OF FOUR
Blue and white Chinese export porcelain Nanking pattern demitasse cup and saucer with characteristic pattern of man on bridge and dagger border with gilt trim. Circa 1800 to 1840. Saucer measures 4 5/8 inches in diameter. Cup measures 2 5/16 inches in diameter. Set of four with all pieces in good condition. Minor roughness around edges.
Nanking is distinguished from Canton as being a porcelain of higher quality and offers subtle differences in shapes and is more readily differentiated by finely executed patterns in the decorations themselves. Nanking is typically a slightly darker shade of blue and shows a more complex design incorporating people standing on a bridge. As discussed in the book "Chinese Export Porcelain" by Herbert, Peter and Nancy Schiffer, it is believed that Nanking may have been copied from the English Caughley transfer dishes dating almost twenty years earlier (1780's).
PRICE: $110 (set of four)