Plate

The central scene is painted in the manner of Meissen Hausmaler (home painter) style decoration. For about two decades from about 1740, Chinese porcelain was painted in this manner after samples taken to China, often with scenes within shaped cartouches intricately decorated with gold and enamel scrollwork. In this example, the scene incorporates a central figure with the crown who is traditionally identified as Peter the Great, Emperor of Russia, who arrived in Amsterdam in 1697 and worked incognito at the small Dutch port of Zaandam.