Chinese Armorial Porcelain for the Dutch Market

In the 18th century, interest in Chine de Commande, Chinese porcelain made by special orders, was considerable in the Western European countries maintaining direct trade relations with China. Britain topped the list, importing 4,000 to 5,000 armorial services in this century, of which some 3,000 are documented by D.S. Howard in his Chinese Armorial Porcelain (1974). In the Netherlands, where the patrician class rather than the nobility constituted the ruling elite, the level of interest was much lower than in Britain, but higher than in any other European nation. About 500 armorial services with coats of arms of Dutch families have been identified to date. Moreover, the Dutch ordered armorial porcelain bearing arms of provinces and cities as well as a lot of monogrammed services. A surveying publication about Chinese armorial porcelain for the Dutch market is lacking up to now. The aim of this publication is a reference book written in English, containing a description of c. 500 Chinese services bearing coats of arms of Dutch families. The main part of this publication will be a catalogue section with a detailed and illustrated description of each service. The description gives information about the illustrated item, the form(s) and composition of the service, the decoration, the heraldic bearing(s) and finally about the person(s) and family who acquired this armorial porcelain. The heraldic description or blazoning will be in plain and modern English. The sequence of the described services is done in accordance with a classification of styles, partly based on Howard's classification in his book of 1974, but with some deviations. With over 600 illustrations this publication, produced in collaboration with the Centre for Genealogy and Heraldry, gives a comprehensive overview of the beautifully painted armorial porcelains.