455 - A pair of rare 'Famille rose' mythological subject 'four elements' plates

A pair of rare 'Famille rose' mythological subject 'four elements' plates China, Qianlong period, ca. 1740 D. 22,8 cm Painted with an allegorical scene representing 'Earth', with Cybèle accompanied by three of the 'four seasons', Bacchus, Flora and Ceres, in a chariot drawn by mythical beasts, the surrounding landscape with a maiden reclining on a pink rug in the foreground having flowers put into her hair by an attendant putto, two further putti on a mat with flute and basket of fruit, two others playing and picking flowers; all within a blue scrolling border. German private collection, assembled before 2007 The scene on this plate is based on a painting by Francesco Albani (1578-1660) commissioned for the Borghese Palace, Rome. Albani painted a set of four mythological scenes representing the elements for the palace and later produced three variant series, the best-known being for Cardinal Maurice of Savoy in 1635, now in the Turin Museum. The popularity of such scenes and their rendering by various engravers made them a popular subject choice for export porcelain. For a similar example see William R. Sargent 'Treasures of Chinese Export' Yale 2012, p. 297 llustrated: Qing Export Porcelain, by A. Varela Santos, 2015/2016, cat. 79 - Fine condition except few very small chips to unglazed section of the stand rim