Recent Acquisitions
On this page you'll find my latest acquisitions, It may, however, take some time for all objects to load.
This way you can quickly browse through my recently acquired objects without having to browse through all the various categories.
After four weeks each object in 'Recent Acquisitions' will be moved to their specific category.
Latest update; September 7, 2019.
Japanese Imari 1680-1800
Object 2012236
Bowl
Japan
1700-1720
Height 88 mm (3.46 inch), diameter 176 mm (6.92 inch), diameter of footring 61 mm (2.40 inch), weight 451 grams (15.91 ounce (oz.))
Bowl on footring, straight rim. Imari, decorated in underglaze blue, iron-red and gold with three panels, filled with a bird in flight above two knotted branches with a flower head alternating with leafy and flowering branches. Round the foot a floret between scrolls pattern border. On the outer and inner rim a diaper pattern border. On the inner wall three flowering branches - one of iris, one of cherry and one of prunus. On the bottom a peony flower spray in a single concentric band in underglaze blue and gold.
Condition: Two firing flaws to the base.
Price: € 599 - $ 660 - £ 537
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Japanese wares with Western shapes or designs 1653-1800
Object 2012234
Ewer
Japan
1700-1730
Height 147 mm (2.28 inch), diameter handle to spout 135 mm (5.31 inch), diameter 89 mm (3.50 inch), diameter of mouthrim 16 mm (0.63 inch), diameter of footring 53 mm (2.09 inch), weight 274 grams (9.67 ounce (oz.))
Oviform ewer on footring, narrowing shoulder with cylindrical neck. Curved spout and C-shaped handle. Imari decorated in underglaze blue, iron-red and gold with flowering plants its flowers are moulded in low relief alternating with a seated figure. On the handle and spout a floret between scrolls. Round the foot a continuous flower scroll.
This special type of ewer was probably used for soy, its moulded decoration in low relief was popular for a while,and is also seen on several other export shapes.
For other objects with moulded decoration in low relief, please see:
For an identically shaped and sized ewers decorated with moulded low relief, please see:
- The Voyage of Old-Imari Porcelains, (Kyushu Ceramic Museum, Arita 2000), p.60, cat. 96.
- Imari-Porzellan am Hofe der Kaiserin Maria Theresia, exhibition catalogue (Hetjens-Museum, Düsseldorf, 2000), p.89, cat. 65 & 66.
Condition: A restored handle.
References:
Jörg 2003/1, cat. 97, 98, 99 & 100
Price: Sold.
Red & Gold / Rouge-de-Fer 1690-1730
Object 2011545
Dish
China
1710-1720
Height 31 mm (1.22 inch), diameter of rim 211 mm (8.30 inch), diameter of footring 111 mm (4.37 inch), weight 272 grams (9.59 ounce (oz.))
Dish on footring, spreading flat, underglaze brown-edged rim (jia mangkou). Decorated in 'Red & Gold' / 'Rouge-de-fer' with iron-red and gold on the glaze with a moon lit scene of two insects in flight and two birds one in flight the other perched on the branch of a flowering tree growing from behind a low wall. The low wall is decorated with a river scape scene. On the left a flowering peony tree growing from behind a fence. The reverse is undecorated.
Condition: A firing flaw and three hairlines to the rim.
Reference:
Price: Sold.
Famille Verte wares 1680-1725 - Famille Verte and Powder Blue
Object 2012218
Bowl
China
c.1700
Height 73 mm (2.87 inch), diameter of rim 143 mm (5.63 inch), diameter of footring 61 mm (2.40 inch). weight 290 grams (10.23 ounce (oz.))
Octagonal bowl on footring with spreading sides. Decorated in powder blue, underglaze blue and various overglaze famille verte enamels. The sides are divided in eight panels and on the outside show alternately, a bird perched on a branch of a prunus tree or flowering plants and some of the 'hundred antiquities' or a river scape on a powder blue ground. Around the lobbed rim on the inside a border with reserves filled with geometrical patterns and flower heads alternating with ruyi heads. On the bottom, flower sprays in a double concentric band in underglaze blue.
There is a special category within Kangxi blue and white, namely 'powder blue'. This name refers to a specific technique used to decorate porcelain. Cobalt blue oxide was not applied to the surface of the dried object with a brush but was blown onto it through a hollow pipe that was covered at the opposite end with a piece of gauze. Once the object had been glazed and fired the surface showed tiny dots and patches of blue that suggest depth and create an interesting texture. Before blowing the blue, panels and cartouches could be reserved by covering the surface with paper cutouts of the desired shape. The areas beneath these were still white after firing and were subsequently filled with enameled decorations, usually of the famille verte type, sometimes in iron red, showing birds, flowering plants, landscapes or figural scenes. Gold could be added in a third firing process, but it has usually worn off by now. Powder blue rarely occurs any more after 1725. It was supplanted by 'Batavia Brown', an evenly applied underglaze brown color with panels that were filled with decorations in the more modern famille rose enamels.
This bowl showcases the virtuosity of the porcelain producer, who used various decorative techniques in different media for which three kiln firings were needed. (Jörg 2011/2, p.58)
Condition: Four hairlines and a restored chip to the rim.
Reference:
Price: Sold.
Armorial / Pseudo-Armorial wares 1700-1800 - Armorial - Dutch
Object 2012191
Teacup and saucer
China
c.1735-38
Height of teacup 29 mm (1.14 inch), diameter of rim 56 mm (2.20 inch), diameter of footring 25 mm (0.98 inch), weight 21 grams (0.74 ounce (oz.))
Height of saucer 18 mm (0.70 inch), diameter of rim 88 mm (3.46 inch), diameter of footring 50 mm (1.97 inch), weight 23 grams (0.81 ounce (oz.))
Teacup and saucer on footrings, sixfold scalloped rims. Decorated in various overglaze black, gold, blue and green enamels, iron-red and gold with a coat of arms round the rim a lozenge diaper border in gold on a rouge de fer ground with a flowerbud-like or early spearhead border. On the reverse rim three groups of flower sprays with antiquities and round the rim a regular spearhead motif border. The teacup is decorated en suite.
The coat of arms shows:
Sable, on a chevron d’or three azure fleur-de-lys, above with two severed lion’s heads with red tongues facing each other and below a lion’s head facing forward with a ring in its mouth, all in gold. Two leopards as shield bearers, holding a crown. (in Dutch: in zwart een lage keper beladen met drie blauwe lelies, boven vergezeld van twee toegewende afgerukte leeuwenkoppen, rood getongd en beneden van een aanziende leeuwenkop, rood getongd, alles goud)
The Dutch coat of arms on this teacup and saucer are unidentified and unrecorded in literature (including J. Kroes’ Dutch armorial porcelain) until now. They belong to the ‘De la Faille’ family (also written: del la/della Faille).
Coat of arms de la /del la/della Faille family, drawing, HxW…inch,138 mm (4.43 inch) x 126 mm (4.96 inch) © Antiquariaat /antiquarian bookshop Van der Steur, Haarlem, the Netherlands.
The De la Faille family has its origin in Antwerp and already traded on the Levant in 1540, with some of its family members taking up residence in Venice. The family can still be found in Belgium today (until 1831 the southern part of the Netherlands) and belongs to the Belgian nobility.
The family split when after the fall of the city of Antwerp in 1585 some Protestant members emigrated to the Netherlands, more precise to Haarlem, Dordrecht and Leiden. In the late 17th century the family also took residence in the city of Delft.
Because of their prominence in Delft and Delft being one of the VOC Chambers, further research was done on these members of the De la Faille family.
The Delft connection starts with Bernardus de la Faille, who resided in The Hague (Dutch: Den Haag) nearby Delft; he was an accountant for the Stadtholder Maurice of Orange. He married Elisabeth Camerling from Delft in 1618.
His son, Johan del la Faille (1628-1713) already became a member of the City Council (Dutch: vroedschap) in Delft. As a supporter of stadtholder William III of Orange, he was appointed in 1672, the Year of Disaster after the First Stadtholderless Period, when the Dutch Republic was under threat of an invasion by the troops of King Louis XIV of France. He was also bailiff (Dutch: Schout) in Delft between 1680 and 1713. Johan de la Faille owned a famous curiosity cabinet, which was started by his grandfather and father, mainly consisting of sea shells as well as birds, Roman coins and medals, tapestries and paintings and interestingly also porcelains.
Portrait of Johan de la Faille(1628-1713), 1680s, member of the City Council (vroedschap) and Bailiff (schout) of Delft, Oil on copper, H x W 6 1/4 x 12 inch (41.3 x 30.5 cm),Jan Verkolje, signed on the butt of the rifle: Jan Verkolye 168(?)
© 2018 Wadsworth Athenaeum Museum of Art, Hartford Connecticut, US, object-id: 1982.36
Johan de la Faille married on 28th of January 1671 with Anna Margaretha Delff (1647–1715). The couple had four children: Johan Bernard, Cornelis, Abraham and Elisabeth.
His second son Cornelis (1674-1730) was the centre of an interesting story. In 1730 he became involved in the so-called ‘Sodomite Hysteria’ (Dutch: Sodomietenhysterie) in the Netherlands. Cornelis was homosexual, but in the elite circles of the time this was usually handled reasonably open-minded.
In 1730 however the Dutch Republic had just experienced an epizootic disease in its cattle population, while its dikes were threatened by shipworm. These circumstances had readied the minds of the Dutch for moral panics fuelled by Protestant preachers, because they saw this as evidence of God's wrath against homosexuals. This dangerous mind-set and an already present aversion against the clique of city rulers was pretty suddenly canalized in a violent outbreak of hate against homosexuals, which started in the city of Utrecht, after which a nationwide wave of prosecutions ensued. In a series of pamphlets and veil gossip a whole network of homosexual members of city councils across several Dutch cities, including the locations of the public houses they met, was outed and vilified. The government, pressured by the public outrage, now felt compelled to act.
Dozens of men were condemned to the gallows or drowned, and their remains were burned or casted into the sea, which attests to the dangerous atmosphere at the time.
Engraving, 180 mm (7.09 inch) x 280 mm (11.02 inch), 1730; Allegory, showing Justice in the centre, ‘glorified by the discovery of …severe Sin.’ [Dutch: ‘De geregtigheid verheerlijkt door het ontdekken der hooggaande zonde’].To the left an angel holding a banner showing the Biblical text ‘Men desisting from natural relations with women,’ Romans 1:27 [Dutch: ‘Mannen nalatende het gebruik der vrouwen’, Romeinen 1:27]. Time lifts the curtain to reveal homosexual gentlemen; the four chained women to their right represent Fornication, Lust, Avarice and Wantonness. On the background the cities of Sodom and Gomorra burning.
© National Prison Museum, Veenhuizen, the Netherlands, inv. nr. 05417645X
In Delft three ‘suspects’ were arrested. Fortunately, prime suspect Cornelis de la Faille had fled town just in time. He was convicted in absentia and all his possessions, including a large townhouse (Oude Delft 124), inherited from his mother, were confiscated.
Cornelis died in 1730 of natural causes; the family de la Faille however did not accept Cornelis’ conviction and started a trial at the High Court of Holland to regain their family possessions. When the homophobia finally died down the family won the court proceedings arguing that it was first and foremost a family affair in which the courts had no say at all, an argument which the court, consisting of fellow city elite members, was highly sensitive of.
Cornelis died in 1730 and his brothers Johan Bernard and Abraham both in 1729, which makes it unlikely any of them ordered this tea-and coffee set with their coat of arms, because this cup and saucer can actually be dated quite precisely due to the interesting fact that - apart from the coat of arms - it is identical to cups and saucers from the well-known Valckenier armorial tea- and coffee service, ordered by governor-general Adriaan Valckenier, dated 1735-38.
The back and sides of a Valckenier teacup and saucer, which further confirms that it is completely identical with de la Faille, are never shown, therefore an few rare pictures are also included in this description.
It is because of these never visible verte enamels in this part of the decoration, this Valckenier tea- and coffee service has sometimes been described in the past as ‘famille verte’ [Corbeiller 1974, p.88].
Teacup and saucer with the arms of Valckenier, c. 1735-38, cup H.3,7 cm (inch),D. 6,7 cm(inch), saucer 10,7 cm (inch), Private Collection, the Netherlands. (not included in this sale)
For more background information about this Valckenier tea-and coffee set, please see:
For more information about other Valckenier armorial services in general, please see:
The similarity with Valckenier of course begs the question whether there could be any connection between the two families. Further research revealed no family connection (e.g. through marriage). However, it became clear that at the same time Adriaan Valckenier was in Batavia, there were also at least two members of the De la Faille family present as part of the government of the Dutch Indies, working directly with him.
In 1701 Cornelis’ elder brother Johan Bernard (1672-1729) married with Anna Catharina van Heemskerck (1676-1723); the couple had no less than 8 children. One of Johan Bernard’s children was Bernard Jacob de la Faille (1709-1746), who went to Batavia in 1731 aboard the VOC ship ‘Spiering’ as a member of the Council of Justice (Dutch: Raad van Justitie) in Batavia [source: openarch.nl] He married Marie Gosewine in 1732.
Another was Mr. Cornelis Coenraad de la Faille (1710-1744), merchant and First Keeper of the Storage Rooms (Dutch: koopman en dispensier Provisiekamer) in Batavia in 1736. Presumably around that same time he married Magdalena Clara van Schagen, the daughter of Joan Paul van Schagen (1689-1746), who became director-general of the Indies in 1737, at the same time Adriaan Valckenier became governor-general. The couple had two daughters.
[source: Wijnaendts van Resandt, W., De gezaghebbers der Oost-Indische Compagnie op hare buiten-comptoiren in Azië, Amsterdam 1944, pp. 68-69]
Both De la Faille brothers could have ordered armorial porcelain because of their significant VOC functions in Batavia. The most likely of the two in this case however would be Cornelis Coenraad, because of his stronger connection to Adriaan Valckenier through his spouse whose father worked directly alongside Valckenier. Another indication could be the oval shape of the shield, which usually (although not exclusively) points to a married woman. Perhaps he ordered this armorial tea service when he married Magadalena van Schagen?
All in all, this hereto unknown Dutch armorial cup and saucer provides a fascinating view not only into the De la Faille family history, but also into Dutch and Batavian history and the high society of the time.
Condition teacup: some frits and fleabites to the rim
Condition saucer: a short hairline to the rim.
References:
De Nederlandsche Leeuw, jaargang 15 (1897), p. 191
Corbeiller 1974, pp. 86-88, no. 34, figs. 46-47
Kroes 2007, cat. 32 t/m 36, cat. 78,cat. 96 t/m 101
Wijnaendts van Resandt 1944, pp. 68-69
Price: € 1.499 - $ 1.691 - £ 1.346
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Japanese Blue and White wares 17th Century - Dishes
Object 2012162
Dish
Japan, Arita presumably Sarugawa
1670-1690
Height 53 mm (2.09 inch), diameter of rim 320 mm (12.60 inch), diameter of footring 151 mm (5.95 inch), weight 1.184 grams (41.76 ounce (oz.))
Dish on footring, flat rim. On the base four spur-marks in a Y-pattern. Decorated in underglaze blue in the style of Chinese kraak porcelain. In the centre a decoration of a river landscape with trees, pagodas, rocks and mountains. The sides divided into panels filled with stylised peonies and precious objects alternating with narrower panels of florets. On the reverse two widespread flower sprays.
In present-day Dutch collections, Japanese dishes and plates with Chinese kraak designs are still common and must have been an important part of the export shipments. Unfortunately, official VOC shipping lists only occasionally specify decorations in such detail that we can identify these kraak-style pieces. The kraak style was reserved largely for dishes, plates and saucers. Examples have normal borders divisions of wide and narrow panels while the centre shows the highly popular designs of a flower vase on a terrace, a river landscape with birds or flowering plants with a cricket. (Jörg 2003/1, p.23)
For an identically decorated dish, please see:
Condition: Some firing flaws and a glaze chip to the rim.
References:
Price: Sold.
Red & Gold / Rouge-de-Fer 1690-1730 - Tea, Coffee and Chocolate wares
Object 2011657
Teacup and saucer
China
1700-1720
Height of teacup 42 mm (1.65 inch), diameter of rim 67 mm (2.64 inch), diameter of footring 29 mm (1.14 inch)
Height of saucer 25 mm (0.98 inch), diameter of rim 110 mm (4.33 inch), diameter of footring 61 mm (2.40 inch))
Teacup and saucer on footrings, the sides with a double row of chrysanthemum petals in relief, scalloped rims. Decorated in 'Red & Gold' or 'Rouge de Fer' with iron-red and gold on the glaze with a central flower head surrounded by two clusters of flower sprays. Round the rim a floral scroll border with four small flower heads. The reverse is undecorated. The teacup is decorated en suite.
Condition teacup: Some wear to the gilt decoration and some tiny popped bubbles of glaze caused during the firing process.
Condition saucer: Some wear to the gilt decoration.
Price: € 249 - $ 279 - £ 222
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Blue and White Kangxi Period 1662-1722
Object 2012230
Stem cup
China
c.1700
Height 74 mm (2.91 inch), diameter of rim 63 mm (2.48 inch), diameter of footring 31 mm (1.22 inch), weight 86 grams (3.03 ounce (oz.))
Stem cup on high, splayed foot with broad, flat footring and recessed base. Wide cup with flaring rim. Decorated in underglaze blue with round the foot with a zig-zag lines-pattern border and on the foot flower heads alternating with lozenge motifs, on the cup six lotus-petal panels filled with leafy branches and various flowering plants.
There is little doubt that the large numbers of small stem cups and wine cups of this size were used in the East for rice wine, while those that reached Europe may have been used for gin. It is likely however, that much of this supply was used in Batavia itself and only relatively small numbers were selected by the supercargoes for Europe. (Howard 1994, pp.186-187)
The function of stem cups is not yet clear, but they may have been used for drinking genever (Dutch-gin). The shape is derived from a European glass model. (Jörg & Van Campen 1997, p.264)
For a smaller and earlier stem cup, please see:
Condition: A shallow fleabite to the footring and a hairline to the rim. The stem cup stands crooked, the footring is not concentric, caused during the firing process.
References:
Howard 1994, pp.186-187, cat. 214.
Jörg & Van Campen 1997, p.264, cat. 305.
Price: € 349 - $ 394 - £ 311
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Japanese Imari 1690-1800
Object 2010727
Ewer
Japan
1710-1730
Height 168 mm (6.61 inch), diameter 92 mm (3.62 inch), diameter of mouthrim 28 mm (1.10 inch), diameter of footring 54 mm (2.13 inch), weight 294 grams (10.73 ounce (oz.))
Oviform ewer on footring, Tall neck, the mouth with a pinched spout. Curved handle which is not pierced. Imari, decorated in underglaze blue, iron-red and gold with two panels filled with flowering chrysanthemum and irises growing from behind a fence alternating with flower heads and foliate scrolls in iron-red and gold reserved on a dark blue ground. Round the footing a pointed leaves-pattern border. Round the shoulder a fence alternating with a flower head and leafy scrolls. On the handle a floret between scrolls.
The shape of this ewer is common in the export assortment, but an unusual feature is that the handle is not pierced which is nearly always the case with such ewers.
For other identically decorated objects, please see:
Condition: Some firing flaws to the rim.
Reference:
Price: € 499 - $ 562 - £ 442
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Famille Verte 1680-1725
Object 2012164A
Teapot
China
1700-1720
Height 105 mm (4.13 inch), diameter ear to spout 146 mm (5.75 inch), diameter of mouthrim 45 mm (1.77 inch), diameter of footring 53 mm (2.09 inch), weight with cover 264 grams (9.31 ounce (oz.)), weight cover 37 grams (1.31 ounce (oz.))
Teapot on footring, moulded body and cover, straight spout and C-shaped handle. Domed cover with round knob. Decorated in underglaze blue, overglaze iron-red and black and green enamel with six shaped panels each filled with various flowering plants growing from rockwork, on the shoulder a descending pointed leaves-pattern border and on the neck a zig-zag lines pattern border. On the cover a descending pointed leaves-pattern border. Handle and spout with florets between scrolls.
Toward the end of the 17th century, stimulated by commissions from the court in Peking, the porcelain factories began to experiment with new glazes and decoration techniques. One of the methods developed at that time was the application of decorations along with glazes coloured by metal oxides, the so-called 'enamel'. To apply the decoration, the object had to be first glazed and fired. Then the enamel could be applied and the object was inserted into the kiln for a second time.
One of the types of porcelain thus decorated, in which a green-tinted enamel is prominent, is commonly referred to as famille verte. And naturally, the variant in which pink dominates the decoration was allocated the name famille rose. The verte type was produced from the second half of the 17th century onward, while the rose variant appeared on the market later, in around 1725. (Source: Breekbaar Goed. Een eerbetoon aan Minke A. de Visser (1989-1966), exhibition held at the Groninger Museum, Groningen, 20 March 2015 - 15 March 2016)
Only grown in China and Japan during the 17th Century, tea became known in the Netherlands early because the Dutch East India Company (VOC) shipped small quantities home. Its use as a beverage was established slowly and was probably started by retired VOC employees who had become accustomed to drinking tea in the East. At a tea party, the expensive beverage was served in small teapots, one for each guest, filled with the leaves of the type he or she preferred. The tea was poured into small cups, while the teapot was refilled with hot water from a metal or sometimes ceramic kettle. The small quantity of famille verte teapots still abound reflects the demand in Europe at the time. Elaborately decorated, they must have been regarded as luxury wares for the upper classes. (Jörg 2011/2, p.131)
Condition: A shallow chip with a short-connected hairline to the tip of the spout, some very tiny spots on the rim of the cover, caused by popped bubbles of glaze during the firing process.
References:
Breekbaar Goed. Een eerbetoon aan Minke A. de Visser (1989-1966), exhibition held at the Groninger Museum, Groningen, 20 March 2015 - 15 March 2016)
Price: € 749 - $ 838 - £ 661
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Japanese Imari 1690-1800 - Imari with no Underglaze Blue, Iron-red and Gold only
Object 2012229
Miniature bottle
Japan
1690-1720
Height 56 mm (2.20 inch), diameter of mouthrim 5 mm (0.20 inch), diameter of foot 20 mm (0.79 inch), weight 20 grams (0.71 ounce (oz.))
Miniature cylindrical bottle with a slightly spreading foot on a flat unglazed base, the shoulder tapering into a long, narrow neck. Imari decorated in overglaze iron-red and gold with grasses, flowering plants and insects in flight.
The use of this miniature bottle is unknown, It is too large to be placed in a doll's house. In general, miniatures were included in groups of decorative porcelain placed on shelves, brakets and consoles in the Dutch interior, or in the porcelain rooms of the grand houses such as those still in Pommersfelden and Charlottenburg, Germany. Similar miniature objects were also made of silver and glass, and the pieces of Japanes (and Chinese) porcelain fit into the general trend. (Jörg 2003/1, p.190)
In O. Impey's "Japanese Export Porcelain. Catalogue of the Collection of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford", Category 36, is devoted to coloured Imari with no underglaze blue, red and gold only. The implication of this singular restriction of palette, without the use of underglaze blue, is that these may be the product of a single enamelling workshop but may or may not be the product of a single kiln. The restriction is probably one of choice, for it would hardly be cheaper, if at all, to use a wider range of enamels, and no cheaper to use underglaze blue. (Impey 2002, pp.220-221)
For an identically shaped and sized and similarly decorated miniature bottle, please see:
Condition: A firing flaw to the body.
References:
Price: € 349 - $ 390 - £ 305
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Chine de commande - Armorial / Pseudo-Armorial wares 1700-1800 - Armorial - English
Object 2012224
Cup
China
c.1720
Height 62 mm (2.44 inch), diameter of rim 57 mm (2.24 inch), diameter of footring 26 mm (1.02 inch), weight 90 grams (3.17 ounce (oz.))
Cup with handle on footring. Decorated in iron-red, blue, purple and (unusual) lime green enamels and gold with the arms and crest of Sir John Lambert, Bt., the reverse with a basket with ribbons and tassels filled with finger-lemon fruit also called 'Buddha's-hand citron, divided by a flywhisk and ruyi sceptre (Daoist symbols) amongst flowers prays. Round the foot and inner rim a spiked palings border and on the outer rim a foliage border. On the base an old rectangular paper label.
The arms are those of Sir John Lambert, created a baronet in 1711. One of the twenty-eight directors of the South Sea Company, founded the same year, Lambert became wealthy by his unscrupulous handling of the company's affairs. He was involved in the selling of fictitious stock, bribing royal mistresses with shares at favourable rates, and juggling the books. His name also occurs in Dutch accounts as agent for speculators in Amsterdam. Lambert tried to cash in on the bubble mania by proposing a company of his own, a whale fishery in Greenland but this was in July 1720: the South Sea Bubble was about to burst, and his petition was refused. The directors were held responsible for the collapse, and after a public inquiry their estates were confiscated. Of this newly acquired wealth valued at 72,508 GPB, Lambert lost all but 5,000 GBP. He died in February 1723. (Corbeiller 1974, p.46)
The service to which the octagonal dish in China Trade Porcelain: Patterns of Exchange, (C. le Corbeiller, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 1974), pp.46-47, cat. 20 belongs is typical of the armorial wares made for the English and French markets between about 1720 and 1730. The decoration at this comparatively early stage of the porcelain trade was still essentially Oriental, the European armorials in no way interfering with the traditional K'ang Hsi arrangement of borders and symbols. The Lambert service, which must date before 1723 and was probably ordered at the height of Sir John's financial success or about 1720, appears to be the earliest of this type. All comparable and datable services fall within the ensuing decade. Although the decorative style of export porcelains showed little Western influence at this period, the shapes of individual pieces were generally copied from contemporary examples in silver; the moulding on the rim of the octagonal dish (cat.20) offers further confirmation of this point, as does the inclusion in the Lambert service of a tazza, one of the few known to exist in China trade porcelain. (Corbeiller 1974, p.46)
This cup proves, that besides the Lambert armorial service, Sir John Lambert, Bt. must also have ordered an armorial tea / coffee service, no other object from this tea / coffee service seems to be recorded at this time.
For other objects decorated arms, crest and motto of Sir John Lambert, Bt., please see:
- Chinese Armorial Porcelain. (D.S. Howard, Faber & Faber Ltd, London, 1974), p.206, no. D2
- China Trade Porcelain: Patterns of Exchange, (C. le Corbeiller, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 1974', pp.46-47, cat. 20.
- Important Chinese Export Porcelain and Chinese works of art from the Collection of the late Mildred R. and Rafi Y. Mottahedeh, auction sale catalogue 7520, Sotheby's New York, October 19, 2000, pp.124-125, lot number 279.
- The Bullivant Collection of Armorial Porcelain. Offered by direction of the Executors of the late Cecil H. Bullivant, auction catalogue Phillips London, 22 March 1988, pp.22-23, cat. 82 & 87.
Condition: Perfect.
References:
Price: € 599 - $ 670 - £ 523
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Chinese wares over-decorated in the West 1700-1800 - Dutch over-decorated Amsterdams Bont wares
Object 2012133
Bowl
China
1730-1750, over-decorated in the Netherlands, Amsterdams Bont, c.1750-1770
Height 69 mm (2.72 inch), diameter of rim 144 mm (5.67 inch), diameter of footring 68 mm (2.68 inch), weight 291 grams (10.26 ounce (oz.))
Bowl on footring with steeply rounded sides and a straight underglaze brown-edged rim (jia mangkou). Carved anhua (secret) floral decoration. Decorated in underglaze blue with zig-zag lines pattern borders round the bottom and rim. On the base a single flower spray in a double concentric band. Over-decorated in iron-red, black, gold and other overglaze enamels, in the Netherlands, Amsterdams Bont, c.1750-1770 with a wide spread river scene and two men standing near a waterfront with houses and a tower watching sailing boats on the water, on the opposite side of the water a fortress with a tower this scene alternates with a couple seated on a fence in a garden landscape eating fruit from a basket. On the bottom four groups of flowering peonies. The central representation is surrounded by an x-pattern border and five single flowering peonies on the inner wall.
Anhua is a Chinese term meaning 'secret or hidden decoration', it is incised or carved into the body below the glaze. (Espir 2005, p.254)
It has been suggested that the couple, although lacking the trappings of royalty, could represent Willem IV and Anne of Hanover Princess Royal, and Princess of Orange. Prince William and Princess Anne enjoying marital harmony. (Espir 2005, p.165)
Condition: A restored frit with a connected hairline to the rim..
References:
Jörg & Van Campen 1997, cat. 91 & 116
Price: € 499 - $ 558 - £ 429
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Japanese wares over-decorated in the West 18th Century - English-over-decorated Clobbered wares
Object 2012221
Beaker vase
Japan
1700-1720, Over-decorated in the West probably England, clobbered, c.1780-1830
Height 170 mm (6.69 inch), diameter of mouth 92 mm (3.62 inch), diameter of waist 78 mm (3.07 inch), diameter of footring 58 mm (2.28 inch), weight 409 grams (14.43 ounce (oz.))
Beaker vase of waisted cylindrical shape with a flaring rim and a spreading lower part tapering to a takefushi-shaped foot on a footring. Decorated in underglaze blue with two groups of flowering plants, round the rim a border with flower heads on an underglaze blue ground. Over-decorated in green enamel, iron-red and gold in the West probably England, clobbered, c.1780-1830 with flowering plants, leaves and scrolls. Round the foot an asterisks and dots and a silkworm-pattern border. Marked on the base with an over-decorator's mark in iron-red in the form of a square filled with a pseudo-Chinese character.
According to Espir this beaker vase belongs to a group of Japanese porcelain over-decorated with what is thought to be English decoration dating from c.1780 until about 1830. It is generally garish and so overwhelming that it gave rise to the term 'clobbered' and the poor reputation from which all over-decorated Chinese and Japanese porcelain have suffered since the late 19th century. Much of the Chinese and Japanese porcelain over-decorated in this way was blue and white dating back to the flood of imports from the first half of the eighteenth century which by then was one hundred years old second hand and so unfashionable as to be unsaleable. On the base of many pieces over-decorated in this way is a decorator's mark in iron-red in the form of a square filled with a pseudo-Chinese character. (Espir 2005, pp.239-240)
The demand for Japanese porcelain was strong but production was restricted so here was a gap in the market that the enameller could fill most profitably by giving Chinese porcelain a Japanese look. The simplest way of transferring Chinese porcelain into 'Japanese' was to enhance Chinese blue and white porcelain with iron-red and gold to create the appearance of Imari. For European decorated oriental porcelain mostly Chinese export porcelain objects were used. Only a small proportion were Japanese. (Espir 2005, p.74)
This beaker vase was once part of a garniture which mostly consisted of three covered oviform-shaped jars and two cylindrical beaker vases with spreading mouths, all with the same decoration, They were very popular in The Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe, where they were used as decorative items in the interior. (Jörg 2003/1, p.259)
Condition: Perfect.
References:
Price: € 199 - $ 223 - £ 169
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Japanese Imari 1690-1800 - Tableware and other Porcelain with Western Shapes
Object 2012216
Shaving bowl
Japan
1700-1730
Height 74 mm (2.91 inch), diameter of rim 250 mm (9.84 inch), diameter of footring 100 mm (3.94 inch), weight 712 grams (25.11 ounce (oz.))
Shaving bowl on footring, spreading flat rim, a saved semi-circular section and two small holes on the rim opposite the cut-out section. Imari, decorated in underglaze blue, iron-red, green, turqioise and black enamel and gold with a jardinière filled with flowering peonies. On the rim panels filled with flowering cherry (sakura) on an underglaze blue ground with double prunus flower heads. On the reverse two wide spread flowering prunus sprays.
Shaving bowls were used by barbers and were indispensable in the Dutch household too. They were made of earthenware, pewter, copper and even silver. They had an alternative use, namely, to let blood from a vein in the arm during blood-letting, a medical procedure thought to drain bad blood from the system also performed by the barber/surgeon. In the seventeenth century, regulations were put in place in England to govern what barbers were permitted to do. Thus the became confined to bloodletting and treating external diseases. In Prussia the barbers' and the surgeons' guild joined in 1779, and it was said of great Prussian surgeons that they had risen "up from the barber's bowl'. Both purposes explain the semi-circular saving. The two holes are for a cord used to suspend it from the client's neck to catch lather and water during shaving, or to hang the bowl on the wall thus implying that owners also appreciated the bowl for its decorative value as well as its function. Chinese shaving bowls usually have the holes in the footring while Japanese examples have them in the rim. (Jörg 2003/1, p.184), (Sargent 2012, p.189)
The large circular firing crack, which originates from the rim and goes around the central decoration, apparently did not cause the shaving bowl to be rejected for sale. For other objects with similar large circular firing cracks, please see:
-
Sold Ceramics - Sold Japanese wares with Western Designs 1653-1800 - Page 1 - Object 2011899.
- Sold Ceramics - Sold Kakiemon / Kakiemon-style wares - Kakiemon - Page 1 - Object 2011332.
-
Sold Ceramics - Sold Japanese Other wares - Page 1 - Object 2011156.
- Ko-Imari from the collection of Oliver Impey, (Barry Davies Oriental Art, London, 1997), pp. 162-163, cat. 92.
Condition : A circular firing flaw (crack) and a short hairline to the rim.
References:
Price: € 249 - $ 280 - £ 213
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Blue and White Kangxi Period 1662-1722 - Western Shapes
Object 2012159
Candlestick
China
1690-1700
Height 55 mm (2.17 inch), diameter of rim 65 mm (2.56 inch), diameter of footring 51 mm (2.00 inch), weight 86 grams (3.03 ounce (oz.))
Candlestick on a spreading doomed foot, cylindrical stem, tall sides. Decorated in underglaze blue with two groups of flowerings plants round the foot and a continuous upturned lotus leaves pattern border on the cylindrical stem. On the sides two wide spread flower sprays. Marked on the base with the single character mark: Yu, (Jade (Yuan to Qing)), in underglaze blue.
The Yu, 'jade', character mark is traditionally called the F-mark in the Netherlands and is very common on good-quality blue and white Kangxi export porcelain. (Jörg & Van Campen 1997, p.115)
Candlesticks were ordered by the Dutch as early as the Transitional period and again during the reign of Qianlong, when they were made in the Louis XV and XVI styles, but Kangxi candlesticks are surprisingly rare and thus far only a few varieties are known. Their shapes are derived from silver, pewter or brass models. (Howard 1994, pp.218-219, Jörg & Van Campen 1997, pp.258-259)
Condition: A popped bubble of glaze, caused by the firing process and a V-shaped hairline to the rim.
References:
Jörg & Van Campen 1997, p.115 & pp.258-259
Price: € 749 - $ 850 - £ 640
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Chine de commande - Western Subjects 1680-1800 - Various Subjects - Outdoor Scenes
Object 2010105
Teacup and saucer
China
Soft-paste or Steatitic Porcelain (pâte tendre)
1730-1740
Height of teacup 38 mm (1.49 inch), diameter of rim 70 mm (2.76 inch), diameter of footring 35 mm (1.38 inch), weight 41 grams (1.45 ounce (oz.))
Height of saucer 22 mm (0.87 inch), diameter of rim 115 mm (4.53 inch), diameter of footring 67 mm (2.64 inch), weight 64 grams (2.26 ounce (oz.))
Teacup and saucer on footrings. Decorated in underglaze blue with a group of people on a spit of land jutting into a lake or the sea. To the left on the shore two children with outstretched hands, at the far left rocks with trees. Around the rim a narrow band with honeycomb motifs. The teacup is decorated en suite.
This dramatic and moving representation has yet to be identified. The figures (castaways or slaves?) have dark skins and appear exhausted or are in despair. Undoubtedly, the Chinese porcelain painter painstakingly copied the scene from a Western print, possibly an engraved illustration in a travelogue or one of the countless descriptions of strange and exotic places that were published in the Netherlands in the 17th and first half of the 18th century. Plates, dishes, lotus-flower shaped dishes teacups and saucers in various shapes and even drip-trays for a jardinière are known with this representation, all in underglaze blue. Polychrome versions do not seem to exist. An (unpublished) cup and saucer in the Dutch Kasteel Loosdrecht Collection has the text 'Chineesche Begrafenis' (Chinese Funeral) written in ink in 19th-century script on the back of the saucer. This unfortunately, does not aid in its identification. (Jörg 2002/2, pp.146-147)
Soft-paste porcelain, which is quite different from European soft-paste, originated about 1700 and became popular in the second quarter of the 18th century as part of the export assortment. Unlike ordinary porcelain, it is not translucent and often has a creamy-white appearance. The glaze is often finely crackled as the result of a difference in cooling between the glaze and the body. The latter is made of a white-firing clay, called "huashi" or "slippery stone", the use of which is documented in the reports of 1712 and 1722 by the Jesuit Père d'Entrecolles. As this clay was expensive, soft-paste pieces are usually small and thinly potted. They are also well-painted, as the body is particularly suitable for detailed drawing. Besides this "true" soft-paste, there are pieces with an ordinary porcelain body and a coating of "huashi" clay, which gives the same effect. Due to the porous nature of the fired "huashi" clay, soft paste objects are overall lighter than hard paste objects. The production for export flourished between 1725-1745 and came to a stand around 1750, twenty years later the production revived but the quality of the objects produced never reached the quality level of the previous production. Only a few Chine de commande objects are known to be made of soft paste porcelain, most famous being 'Neptune' and this 'Castaways or slaves' design. (Oort & Kater 1982, p.155), (Jörg & Van Campen 1997, p.117), (Sargent 2012, p.304)
For identically shaped, sized and decorated sold teacup and saucer, please see:
For identically decorated dishes, please see:
- La porcelaine des Compagnies des Indes a décor Occidental, (F. & N. Hervouët & Y. Bruneau, Flammarion - Pere Castor, Paris 1986), p.206, cat. 9.42.
- Jan Menze van Diepen Stichting. Selectie uit de collectie Oosterse keramiek (Jan Menze van Diepen Foundation. A Selection from the Collection of Oriental Ceramics), (C.J.A. Jörg, Jan Menze van Diepen Stichting / Jan Menze van Diepen Foundation, Slochteren 2002, pp.146-147, cat. 100.
For a similarly decorated dish, please see:
Condition teacup: Perfect, fine crazing to the glaze.
Condition saucer: A firing hairline in the centre visible on both sides, fine crazing to the glaze.
References:
Lunsingh Scheurleer 1977, cat. 246
Jörg & Van Campen 1997, cat. 119
Price: € 1.499 - $ 1,701 - £ 1,283
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
Blue and White Kangxi Period 1662-1722 - Vases
Object 2011018
Baluster vase converted into a sugar caster.
China
1700-1720
Height with cover 137 mm (5.39 inch), diameter 58 mm (2.28 inch), diameter of mouthrim 35 mm (1.38 inch), diameter of base 37 mm (1.46 inch), weight with cover 232 grams (8.18 ounce (oz.)), weight cover 11 grams (0.39 ounce (oz.))
Baluster vase on footring. Fitted with marked (1846) Dutch silver mounts converting it into a sugar caster. Decorated in underglaze blue with a parrot, perched on a branch, in a lobbed medallion alternating with flowering plants within two broad bands filled with scroll work. Round the foot a descending lotus leaves-pattern border, the mouthrim with a lappet-pattern border and two butterflies in flight. The silver marks explained: the makers mark or year letter 'L' which stands for the date mark 1846, the sword mark was used (1814-1905) as the standard mark on articles too small for the full hallmarking.
The parrot exists as a well-documented, independent European design that was widely popular at a time when merchants and travellers first collected parrots as emblems of exotic lands. As early as 1580, the Antwerp engraver Adrian Collaert (1560-1618) published a series of bird prints, among which was an image of two birds on stumps, one of which eats cherries. (Sargent 2012, pp.510-511)
For an identically, shaped, sized and decorated baluster vase, please see:
- Sold Ceramics - Sold Blue and White Kangxi Period 1662-1722 - Other Vases - Page 1 - Object 2011374.
Condition: Scratches to the glaze where the mount fits the body.
Reference:
Price: € 399 - $ 450 - £ 340
(the $ and £ prices are approximates and depend on the € price exchange rate)
create websites