WILLIAM FEHR COLLECTION
ONGOING

Fine Oriental ceramics form part of the William Fehr and Good Hope Collections at the Castle of Good Hope. The collections are rich in porcelain made during the 17th and 18th centuries in China and Japan for export to Europe.

Amongst the ceramics on display is an interesting group of hand-painted Chinese porcelain depicting shipping in Table Bay produced between the 1740s and 1770s. Each piece shows the well-known motif of Dutch trading ships in Table Bay against the backdrop of Table Mountain. The painted motifs were executed either in polychrome enamels or in encre de Chine (Chinese ink). The latter technique consisted of finely applied decoration in black enamel and gilt.

The Fehr collection was assembled by businessman and art and antique collector, Dr William Fehr (1892–1968). Fehr was passionately interested in the paintings, prints, drawings and decorative art objects such as furniture, metals, glassware and ceramics that illustrated aspects of South African life in earlier centuries, most especially at the Cape.

[Caption for image 25:]
Chinese porcelain Table Bay plate made to special order with family coats of arms painted on the border, 1740s.


Enquiries: Esther Esmyol, Tel. 021 464 1262 or email eesmyol@iziko.org.za