.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
A small group of these bottles is known in both public and private collections, all with arms apparently after a coin minted during the reign of Philip II (1556-98), .Some have floral decoration on the reverse, like this example, while others show a Chinese scholar seated in landscape. The inventory of the more than 3000 pieces in Philip II's porcelain collection does not appear to list similar bottles, and it is likely that the order came from another Spanish aristocrat, merchant or churchman.
Spanish silver, mined in the New World and minted in Mexico, South America or Spain, including the famous ocho reales (pieces of eight), was the world's most desirable currency for centuries. China held so much Spanish silver at the height of the two nations' commerce that it caused a major trade imbalance; it remained legal currency in the U.S. until the 1873 Coinage Act and either its Pillars of Hercules motif (on the reverse) or the abbreviation for pesos likely led to the modern dollar sign. Whether these coin bottles were made in Philip II's reign or in that of his son, Philip III (1598-1621), or later, they pointedly reflect the economic and art exchange of East and West in the China trade period.
For a complete discussion see M. A. P. de Matos, The RA Collection of Chinese Ceramics, pp. 172-5, A.V. Santos (ed.), Portugal in Porcelain from China, pp. 179-185, and R, Diaz, Chinese Armorial Porcelain for Spain, pp. 74-79.
Spanish silver, mined in the New World and minted in Mexico, South America or Spain, including the famous ocho reales (pieces of eight), was the world's most desirable currency for centuries. China held so much Spanish silver at the height of the two nations' commerce that it caused a major trade imbalance; it remained legal currency in the U.S. until the 1873 Coinage Act and either its Pillars of Hercules motif (on the reverse) or the abbreviation for pesos likely led to the modern dollar sign. Whether these coin bottles were made in Philip II's reign or in that of his son, Philip III (1598-1621), or later, they pointedly reflect the economic and art exchange of East and West in the China trade period.
For a complete discussion see M. A. P. de Matos, The RA Collection of Chinese Ceramics, pp. 172-5, A.V. Santos (ed.), Portugal in Porcelain from China, pp. 179-185, and R, Diaz, Chinese Armorial Porcelain for Spain, pp. 74-79.