WANLI PERIOD, CIRCA 1600

Philip II of Spain (r. 1556-98) granted the use of these Hapsburg arms to the Augustinian order based in the Philippines. W.S. Sargent, (Porcelains With the Arms of the Order of Saint Augustine, catalogue At The Crossroads, Denver Art Museum, 2012, pp. 53-66), notes that the Spanish Augustinians had outposts in Mexico, and points out that the distinctive architectural motif in their decoration bears a strong relationship to the colonial walled church compound architecture of Mexico. The Augustinians in particular utilized the distinctive espadana, or wall-belfry, Sargent explains. These colonial outposts were richly furnished, and, indeed, these churches were "criticized by other religous orders in the 17th century for...too lavish appointments" (Sargent, The International Asian Art Fair catalogue, March 2002, p. 15).
A similar jar was in the Hodroff collection and illustrated by D.S. Howard, op. cit., p. 231. An apparently unique charger with this design is in the collection of the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem (see Sargent, op. cit., p. 14). A nearly identical jar sold Christie's New York, 21 January 2003, lot 278.