In the Chinoiserie taste, painted in blue, green and ochre with a grotesque European buffoon (zot), flanked by a banner with a cross, approaching a slender lady (lange Lijs) holding a flower-filled basket, both in front of a fence, a host of onlookers beyond, and the starry sky and moon above, two large flower-filled vases in the foreground, the sides with what appear to be the edges of green-striped armorial shields
5 1/8 in. (13 cm.) x 5 1/8 in. (13 cm.), each (10 1/4 x 10 1/4 in. overall)

Anonymous sale; Chistie's, Amsterdam, 26 September 2001, lot 498.

Dr. P. Biesboer, Nederlandse Majolica 1550-1650, Amsterdam 1997, p. 100, ill. 117.

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Lot Essay

Dr. Pieter Biesboer dates this tile picture 1620-1640 and states that this is a very early and unusual example of chinoiserie. The gentleman is described as a dancing buffoon (Zot) and the flowering vases are related to Haarlem tiles from circa 1630.

The Dutch and the Portuguese were long time opponents in their trade contacts with China. This tile picture could be seen as a caricatural Dutch propaganda statement directed against the Portuguese (the "buffoon" in the image) trying to lure the Chinese into their sphere of influence.