Gorer Plate of Shou Lao, God of Longevity, in Yellow Brocade, 1911

Printed in color in London in 1911 for Bernard Quaritch, this original antique plate shows a standing figure of Shou Lao, god of longevity, with movable hands. The yellow brocade robe is scattered with red peaches and cranes among clouds and round panels of shou characters, with an iron red border at the front. He holds a peach in the left hand, and an apple green cap sits at the back of the head. Gorer and Blacker describe it as Ming period and record it in the collection of Benjamin Altman, Esq.; height 19 1/4 inches (49 cm), width 8 1/2 inches (22 cm).

Chinese Porcelain and Hard Stones was issued in London by Bernard Quaritch in 1911, in two large quarto volumes limited to one thousand numbered copies. Edgar Gorer and J. F. Blacker wrote the text, which runs in English and French, and the two hundred and fifty four plates were printed in color from photographs of the pieces themselves rather than drawn by hand. This sheet is one of them. The plates are color collotypes, and the book records that it was produced and printed by the Menpes Printing and Engraving Company of London and Watford.

Gorer and Blacker chose the showpieces of the trade: tall black ground vases, green ground beakers, figures and animals, many of them from named private collections in Britain and America. The plates are a record of Western taste in Chinese ceramics in 1911 as much as of the objects themselves.

Even age toning. Scattered light foxing in the margin. All four corners complete. Several larger brown marks.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.