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Object 2012142
Saucer
China
c.1800
Height 28 mm (1.10 inch), diameter of rim 128 mm (5.04 inch), diameter of footring 75 mm (2.95 inch), weight 81 grams (2.86 ounce (oz.))
Saucer on footring, straight rim. Decorated in various overglaze enamels and gold with the crest and moto of Robertson, A dexterhand erect holding in the hand an imperial crown all proper, with the motto 'Virtutis Gloria merces' (Glory is the reward of valour). Beneath the shield, on which are the initials C.R., the figure of a wild man in chains proper. Round the rim an ornamental border. The reverse is undecorated.
This service is one of a number made for the family of Robertson of Struan (which family bore on a compartment beneath their arms a wild man in chains commemorating the capture of the murderer of King James I of Scotland in 1437 by the 4th Chief of the Clan. Four earlier services are illustrated in this volume (F4, V8, V14 and V17) which give detail of the family in the second half of the 18th Century, but although there is more than one Charles Robertson in earlier generations, and younger sons are mentioned in published records, there is no obvious owner of this service. The border design is, however, exactly as the Hon. East India Company service (Volume I, W12) which was delivered to the Governors of all the principal East India Stations in India at this time, and it would seem quite possible that the service was carried by Captain Thomas Robertson who commanded East Indiamen at Canton in 1797, 1800 and 1802 (although his crest is not recorded. (Howard 2003, p.656)
For a small cup/mug from the same service, please see:
The Robertsons claim to be descended from Crinan, Lord of Atholl, from whom sprang the royal house of Duncan I, the King of the Scots. The Robertson clan is more properly called ‘Clan Donnachaidh’ from their ancestor Duncan, who was a staunch supporter of Robert the Bruce, and who led the Clan at the Battle of Bannockburn.
The general surname of the clan Robertson was taken from Robert Riach (Grizzled Robert) the clan chief, who was known for his intense loyalty to the Stewarts. Riach was responsible for capturing the murderers of King James I, and was rewarded by the crown for this act by having his lands at Struan erected into a Barony.
Robert Riach (source: www.scotclans.com)
The clan was also granted a symbolic memorial by additions to their coat of arms – subsequently the chief of clan Robertson bore as his crest a hand holding an imperial royal crown, and underneath a man in chains, representing the regicide. About a century later, the Robertson family lost the lands of Struan to the Earl of Atholl but the family regained them in 1606.
However in the seventeenth century, after the final defeat of James VII, all Robertson estates were forfeited and the chief of the Robertson clan joined the exiled court in France. To this day the chiefs of the clan Robertson still have the right and privilege of interment in the family burial ground at Struan. (source: www.scotclans.com)
For more information on the Clan Robertson (Clan Donnachaidh), please click here.
Condition: Three hairlines to the rim.
References:
Price: Sold.
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