Chinese, 18th century, cobalt blue underglaze decoration of a Dutch seaside town, figures with a bull set in a landscape under pine trees and clouds, crimped edges with a repeating wave border, old label on one reads "Kang Hsi ca. 1700, literatuur en af beelding 272, Chine de Commande, D.F. Lunsinghleer blz 98", another label reads "Scene is possibly a coastal town may be from a European engraving. Chinese 18th(?) Century", one affixed tag reads, "Sotheby's, Mottahedeh Collection, 7520, 95", 7-7/8 in. each

Notes: Frederik van Frijtom (c. 1632-1702) is regarded as one the most significant of the 17th century Delft painters. His delicate work usually features figures standing before sprawling Dutch flat landscapes.  Van Frijtom painted a well known Delft plate with an image of Deshima Island, Japan, and the image was widely copied by the Japanese and Chinese for export. The view of these plates is similar to the Van Frijtom image, though it is widely believed to represent the Dutch seaside town of Scheveningen.  Per the label on one plate, a similar example may be seen in Chine de Commande, by Lunsingh Scheurleer, 1966, page 96.  For an illustrated example of a similar plate see D.S. Howard, 'The Choice of the Private Trader' (1994), p. 44, pl. 11