Qianlong period circa 1770
Dutch Market
Length: 7½ inches; 19cm
from the Golden Gate Collection, GG44

A Chinese export porcelain teapot and cover, decorated in Meissen-style with a famille rose panel of a harbour scene and two figures, one kneeling and the other wearing a crown.

This is a scene of Peter the Great studying Dutch shipbuilding in Zaandam in 1697, which is also known on some Chinese export plates. The Tsar went incognito as Pyotr Mikhailov and stayed in the humble house of Gerrit Kist, who had worked as a smith in the Moscow shipyards. Peter also worked at the  VOC shipyards in Amsterdam.

Many similar scenes are described as showing Peter the Great - however the standing man should have a crown and at least one attendant should be kneeling for this to be credible. In any case no precise print source has been found for this subject.

References: Hervouët & Bruneau 1986, No 15.55, a  saucer with this design.