.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The unusual design for these dishes is taken from Pierre Pomet, A Compleat History of Drugs, London, 1712, after original drawings from the French version Histoire Générale des Drogues, Paris, 1694; Pomet was chief pharmacist to Louis XIV. The only published evidence of this service appears to be a drawing of the design which was exhibited, 18th Century Relics of the Griffin Shipwreck, National Museum, Manila, Philippines, 1988, fig. IV.1.c, no. 33. A tea or coffee service, presumably ordered subsequently to the dinner service, was amongst the cargo of the East Indiaman, The Griffin, which was bound for England, but sank in 1761 off the Philippine coast; see the catalogue notes by Franck Goddio and Evelyne Jay.
It is interesting that the elongated nutmeg depicted on these unusual dishes is the male variety rather than the more rounded female fruit. It was in fact the female nutmeg (myristica fragrans) which was cultivated from the early 18th Century onwards exclusively in the Banda Islands which were owned by the Dutch East India Company. The nutmeg became increasingly popular both as a spice and for medicinal purposes, and this lucrative commodity was the cause of several disputes between the Dutch and English East India Companies. Indeed, it is said to be the reason why the Dutch acquired the Banda Island of Pulo Run in exchange for Manhattan Island. The depiction of the large pineapple and branch of cloves is also extremely rare on Chinese porcelain.
It is interesting that the elongated nutmeg depicted on these unusual dishes is the male variety rather than the more rounded female fruit. It was in fact the female nutmeg (myristica fragrans) which was cultivated from the early 18th Century onwards exclusively in the Banda Islands which were owned by the Dutch East India Company. The nutmeg became increasingly popular both as a spice and for medicinal purposes, and this lucrative commodity was the cause of several disputes between the Dutch and English East India Companies. Indeed, it is said to be the reason why the Dutch acquired the Banda Island of Pulo Run in exchange for Manhattan Island. The depiction of the large pineapple and branch of cloves is also extremely rare on Chinese porcelain.