Lot Essay
The inscription may be translated as 'The empire of virtue stretches to the end of the universe'. In the 19th century the crowned figures were believed to represent Louis IX of France and his mother Queen Blanche de Castille. Later they have been identified as Louis XIV and his Queen. See the very similar beaker, cover and saucer exhibited, Ancient Chinese Trade Ceramics from The British Museum, London, National Museum of History, Taibei, 1994, Catalogue no.14, pp.42 and 43, where the authors suggest that until the source of this design, perhaps a medal or print, is discovered, any positive identification would appear to be impossible.
However, twenty-five covers of such beakers were recovered from a shipwreck off the coast of Vietnam, part of a find now known as 'The Vung Tao Cargo', which was sold in our Amsterdam Rooms on 7 and 8 April 1992; the covers were included as lot 856. The cargo of this shipwreck is dated to circa 1690, on the basis of an inkstick bearing a cyclical date corresponding to 1690, so one must presume these beakers, covers and stands also date to around that year.
A similar covered bowl and saucer is in the Musée Guimet, Paris, illustrated by F. and N. Hervouët and Y. Bruneau, op.cit., 1986, no.9.94, p.226; another is in the Salting Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated by W. B. Honey, op.cit., 1927, plate 111c, where the author refers to this as a chocolate cup; and a third, in a private collection, is illustrated by G. A. Godden, op.cit., 1979, pl.8, p.54.
However, twenty-five covers of such beakers were recovered from a shipwreck off the coast of Vietnam, part of a find now known as 'The Vung Tao Cargo', which was sold in our Amsterdam Rooms on 7 and 8 April 1992; the covers were included as lot 856. The cargo of this shipwreck is dated to circa 1690, on the basis of an inkstick bearing a cyclical date corresponding to 1690, so one must presume these beakers, covers and stands also date to around that year.
A similar covered bowl and saucer is in the Musée Guimet, Paris, illustrated by F. and N. Hervouët and Y. Bruneau, op.cit., 1986, no.9.94, p.226; another is in the Salting Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated by W. B. Honey, op.cit., 1927, plate 111c, where the author refers to this as a chocolate cup; and a third, in a private collection, is illustrated by G. A. Godden, op.cit., 1979, pl.8, p.54.