Sold Ceramics - Sold Blue and White wares since 1722 - Western Shapes - Page 1

Object 2011640

Vomit-pot / children’s chamber-pot

China

1745-1752

Height 85 mm (3.35 inch), diameter of rim 128 mm (5.04 inch), diameter of footring 75 mm (2.95 inch), weight 434 grams (15.31 ounce (oz.))

Vomit pot on footring, splayed overturned rim with a thick, curved C-shaped handle. Decorated in underglaze blue with foliage, bamboo and flowering peony plants. On the rim three flower sprays and on the handle a single stylized flower on a stem.

Identical shaped and decorated vomit-pots were found amongst the ceramic cargo of the Dutch East India Company, (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC) vessel Geldermalsen. Captain Michael Hatcher salvaged 495 blue & white vomit-pots in total. The content of this ship was auctioned at Christie’s in 1986 as the Nanking cargo.

The Geldermalsen, which sank in 1752 carried among its cargo some unusually shaped porcelains. As the porcelain trade between China and Europe revived from the very end of the seventeenth century, demand for Western shapes rapidly increased. The constantly changing demands of customers and the frequent ordering of new shapes made it necessary to provide the Chinese dealers with models. Western-manufactured objects in wood, pewter, silver, glass and ceramics (like Dutch Delft) and numerous drawings were sent out to Canton and dropped off at Jingdezhen. Several kilns came to specialise in ‘Western‘ wares, probably making nothing else. At Jingdezhen the wares were potted in as close an imitation of the original as the Chinese could achieve. Hatcher found a number of shapes which must have been commissioned and delivered in this manner, among which a category of handled bowls such as this one, which were initially thought to be chamber-pots for children. In their auction sales catalogue Christie’s also referred to them as 'children's chamber-pots'. For their size, they could very well have been used for this purpose.

However, the VOC archives suggest another more likely use: a ‘vomit pot’ (Dutch: spuijgpotje). Jörg mentions that the custom to use special porcelain vomit-pots after a rather too copious dinner has obviously not been fashionable for very long, perhaps as little as five years. VOC archival documents first mention them in 1745 (2049 blue & white decorated pieces), only to be followed by 1746 (1,017 pieces blue & white), 1750 (1,000 pieces blue and white, described as ‘in the manner of a small waterpot’, content 0.6 litre or 1 pint), 1751 (606 pieces blue & white, recorded on the shipping invoice of the Geldermalsen) and finally 1752 (540 blue & white pieces). We know that Heren XVII in their Requirements for 1751 expressly forbid the buying-in of vomits-pots. These small model vomit-pots had to be ordered specially at the factory and were not a substantial part of a VOC commercial cargo. The normal and somewhat bigger water pot could be supplied from stock and was therefore cheaper and just as well suited to the purpose. However, as Jörg explains, in reality the Requirements for 1751 were ignored for several reasons and the cargo of the Geldermalsen was purchased according to the requirements of 1750. Whatever was in stock was taken along at once. The remainder of the VOC order of 1750 was shipped in 1752.

Because of the limited ordering this small vomit pot is therefore a rare article. Howard also mentions that the Geldermalsen cargo must have contained the great majority of those that still exist today.

For identically shaped and decorated vomit-pots, please see:

Condition: glaze rough spots to the sides of the handle and the complete underside of the rim. The handle could have broken of and restored at some point but in my opinion it hasn’t. Instead I think the handle shows two firing tension hairlines.

References:

Jörg 1982/1, p.192 & p.304

Amsterdam 1986, lots 1094-1169

Jörg 1986/1, pp.34-35, pp.69-70 & pp.80-81, appendix 3 p.115

Sheaf & Kilburn 1988, pp.134-135 & Pl. 175

Howard 1994, p.228, cat. 270

Jörg & Van Campen 1997, pp. 252-253

Price: Sold.