FAMILLE ROSE ARMORIAL OVAL CHARGER Chinese Export Qianlong period, circa 1750

A LARGE FAMILLE ROSE ARMORIAL OVAL CHARGER
Qianlong period, circa 1750
Brightly enameled at the center with a coat-of-arms within rococo mantling, and the crest apparently of a red squirrel, the well with a cell-pattern band, the border with flower sprays divided by gilt flowerheads at the compass points.
16 1/2in (42cm) diam
Footnotes
乾隆時期 約1750年 粉彩描金盾徽橢圓大盤

The arms are unknown, but the style of the mantling and the shield suggests that this was a commission from a Dutch or Scandinavian family. It is most likely copied from a bookplate.

However it has also been suggested, by Elinor Gordon among others, that these might have been arms used by Harry Lee II (1730-1787) of Westmoreland County, Virginia Colony in America. The crest is similar, and the checkered motif also features in the arms of Lee.

To complicate the attribution, the division of the blazon in half is similar in style to the bearing used in some Portuguese armorials, and these dishes are known to have been formerly in a Portuguese collection, but they remain unidentified.

Reference: Huitfeldt, 1993, p. 143, for a large, pierced basket from this service, the arms are unidentified, but the author suggests they may be English.

Provenance: Purchased Bonham's COHEN & COHEN 50 YEARS OF CHINESE EXPORT PORCELAIN 24 January 2023, 10:00 EST New York