A BLUE AND WHITE FIVE-PIECE 'CANAL HOUSES' GARNITURE, COMPRISING THREE BALUSTER VASES AND DOMED COVERS AND TWO GU-SHAPED VASES, PAINTED ON ONE SIDE WITH HONEYCOMB PANELS OF CANALSIDE URBAN HOUSES, AND ON THE REVERSE WITH AN ELABORATE FRUIT AND FLORAL FESTOON ABOVE AN ORIENTAL GATEWAY AND VARIOUS FLORAL JARDINIèRES, CIRCA 1690

THE "VUNG TAU CARGO": A SHIPWRECK OF CHINESE EXPORT PORCELAIN "PYRAMIDS OF PORCELAIN: A VERITABLE MOUNTAIN OF BRIGHT CHINA WARE". THERE WAS NO QUESTION THAT, IN THE LATER 17TH CENTURY, EUROPEANS WERE FASCINATED BY THE NEWLY-ABUNDANT CERAMIC WARES OF CHINA AND JAPAN. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY, THESE BOLDLY-PAINTED BLUE AND WHITE, AND OVERGLAZE-COLOURED, PORCELAIN VESSELS FROM THE FAR EAST WERE IMPORTED TO EUROPE IN SUFFICIENT QUANTITIES TO PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE IN THE DEVELOPEMENT OF TASTE AND INTERIOR DECORATION, IN MANY OF EUROPE'S MOST COSMOPOLITAN CAPITALS. THIS AUCTION OF CHINES PORCELAIN AT CHRISTIE'S AMSTERDAM WILL ENABLE COLLECTORS, SCHOLARS AND HISTORIANS OF TASTE TO RECREATE, IN A MANNER AND ON A SCALE UNEQUALLED SINCE THE 17TH CENTURY, THE FASHIONABLE CHARACTER AND EXOTIC VARIETY OF A "PALACE OF PORCELAIN', RECOVERED UNDER GOVERNMENT LICENSE FROM A TRADING SHIP WRECKED OFF THE SOUTHERN COAST OF VIETNAM, THE CARGO OF CHINESE EXPORT PORCELAIN CASTS NEW LIGHT ON ASIAN COASTAL TRADE, ON CHINESE PORCELAIN PRODUCTION, AND ON THE DEVELOPEMENT OF EUROPEAN INTERIOR DESIGN IN THE LAST DECADES OF THE 17TH CENTURY. THE SHIPWRECK IN 1989, A VIETNAMESE FISHERMAN, TRAWLING THE SEA-BED FOR THE LOCALLY PLENTIFUL SUPPLIES OF SHELLFISH, SNAGGED HIS NETS ON AN OBSTRUCTION. HE WAS A FEW MILES AWAY FROM CON DAO ISLAND, WHICH LIES APPROXIMATELY 100 NAUTICAL MILES AWAY SOUTH OF VUNG TAU ON THE SOUTHERN COAST OF THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM. THE ISLAND HAD A LONG HISTORY AS ONE OF THE LAST FRESH-WATER REFUELLING STOPS FOR SHIPS MAKING THE LONG JOURNEY FROM NORTH VIETNAM AND THE SOUTH-EAST CHINESE COAST, DOWN THE ENORMOUS EASTERN COASTLINE OF VIETNAM, AND ACROSS THE GULF OF THAILAND TO THE NORTH-WESTERN ISLANDS OF INDONESIA. THOUSANDS OF SHIPS HAVE MOORED IN THE NATURAL HARBOUR AROUND THE ISLAND, TO TAKE ON WATER TO BE STORED IN THE LARGE BROWN STONEWARE JARS WHICH ARE FOUND AT EVERY TRADING CENTRE, AND IN EVERY WRECK IN ASIA. BUT FEW OF THE MANY SHIPS THAT MUST HAVE BEEN LOST FROM MONSOONS, PIRACY OR FIRE (COOKING DAILY RICE ON AN ALL-WOODEN JUNK WAS A PERILOUS AFFAIR) HAVE EVER BEEN DISCOVERED. THE FISHERMAN'S CHANCE DISCOVERY GRADUALLY CAME TO PUBLIC ATTENTION. IN 1989, THE GOVERNMENT REFERRED THE FUTURE DISPOSITION OF THE SHIPWRECK TO THE VIETNAM SALVAGE CORPORATION, A SUBSIDIARY OF THE MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION, WHICH UNDERTAKES ALL SALVAGE AND SEA-BED INVESTIGATIONS WITHIN THE TERRITORIAL WATERS OF VIETNAM AS A MONOPOLY ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT. IT WAS DECIDED TO RAISE THE CARGO AS A COMMERCIAL OPERATION, WITH THE SALE OF A PROPORTION OF THE CARGO HELPING TO FINANCE THE INSTALLATION OF OTHER PARTS OF IT IN APPROPRIATE VIETNAMESE MUSEUMS. SEEKING A JOINT-VENTURE PARTNER TO SHARE THE COSTS OF RECOVERY, THE CORPORATION (VISAL) JOINED FORCED WITH A SINGAPORE-BASED SWEDISH DIVING EXPERT, SVERKER HALLSTROM, WHOSE COMPANY HAD EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE OF SURVEYING AND OPERATING REMOTE-CONTROLLED DIVING VEHICLES AT UNUSUALLY GREAT DEPTHS. IN FACT, THIS WAS NOT ESSENTIAL FOR THE VUNG TAU CARGO; IT LAY ONLY AT SOME 120 FEET. BUT VISIBILITY WAS POOR; THE DIVING SEASONS WERE INTERRUPTED BY SEASONAL MONSOONS; AND EVENTUALLY IT REQUIRED THREE SEASONS OF DIVING TO COMPLETE A SYSTEMATIC RECOVERY OF THE CARGO, RECORDED BY SITE GRID DRAWINGS OF THE HULL, AND UNDERWATER FILM. THE SHIP WAS AN ASIAN TRADING VESSEL WITH TYPICAL "COMPARTMENT" CONSTRUCTION, ORIGINALLY SOME 110 FEET LONG AND 33 FEET WIDE. EXAMINATION OF THE TIMBERS SHOWED CLEARLY THAT THE VESSEL HAD BEEN BURNED TO THE WATER-LINE; A PART OF THE CARGO HAD ROLLED OFF THE DAMAGED DECK, AND LAY ENCRUSTED AND BROKEN AROUND THE IRREGULAR REMAINS ON THE SEA-BED. IT WAS THESE ENCRUSTED PIECES THAT THE FISHERMAN HAD FOUND FIRST; THE INTERNAL CONTENTS OF THE SHIP, CAREFULLY REMOVED AND INVENTORIED BY TWO SEPARATE GOVERNMENT-APPOINTED SUPERVISORY BODIES, PROVED TO BE IN MUCH BETTER CONDITION, THOUGH WITH INEVITABLE WEAR AND TEAR COMPOUNDED BY THE EFFECTS OF THE SALT WATER. THERE WAS LITTLE TO DATE THE WRECK, EXCEPT A FEW COINS OF THE REIGN OF THE CHINESE EMPEROR KANGXI (1662-1722) AND A SMALL RECTANGULAR CHINESE INKSTICK, RELIEF MOULDED WITH A CYCLICAL DATE CORRESPONDING TO AD1690. WHAT WAS THE RATIONALE FOR THE TRADING ROUTE OF THIS NAMELESS WRECK ? THE TRADE JUDGING BY THE LOCATION OF THE WRECK, THE SHIP WAS ALMOST CERTAINLY BOUND FOR INDONESIA. THE SEA ROUTE SOUTH FROM CON DAO ISLAND WAS ONE OF THE BEST-ESTABLISHED IN ASIA; PART OF THE ENORMOUS AND INTRICATE NETWORK OF MARITIME TRADE ROUTES WHICH HAD LINKED SOUTH ASIA FOR MILLENNIA, BRINGING TRADE GOODS FROM CHINA AT AN EARLY DATE AS FAR WEST AS THE RED SEA AND THE PERSIAN GULF. AT THIS DATE, THE VUNG TAU CARGO WAS PROBABLY INTENDED FOR THE MAJOR TRADING CENTRE IN JAVA, THE CITY OF BATAVIA (NOW JAKARTA). SETTLED BY THE DUTCH IN 1619, IT HAD PROSPERED GREATLY WHILE THE BRITISH TRADING PORT AT BANTAM, TEN MILES WEST UP THE COAST, YIELDED INFLUENCE TO THE EXCELLENT NATURAL HARBOUR. "BATAVIA ROADS" CAME TO BE THE MAIN REVICTUALLING AND REFURBISHING POINT FOR MOST EARLY EUROPEAN MERCHANT SHIPS MAKING THE THREE-MONTH RUN TO CHINA AND JAPAN. IT WAS THE GREATEST DUTCH COLONIAL FORTIFIED CITY IN ASIA FOR CENTURIES. AS THE ASIAN ADMINISTRATIVE CENTRE OF THE ENORMOUS DUTCH EAST INDIA COMPANY (VOC), IT REJOYED GREAT POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE, AND DREW SUBSTANTIAL REVENUES FROM THE SPRAWLING LOCAL MARKET OUTSIDE THE WALLS WHICH ATTRACTED BUYERS AND SELLERS FROM ALL OVER SOUTH EAST ASIA. THERE ARE STRONG GROUNDS FOR SUPPOSING THAT MUCH OF THE PRESENT CARGO WOULD HAVE ENDED UP HERE, READY TO BE BOUGHT BY DUTCH VOC SUPERCARGOES (BUSINESS MANAGERS) PREPARING A MIXED CONSIGNMENT FOR THE HOMEWARD RUN TO AMSTERDAM OR ELSEWHERE ALONG THE NETHERLANDISH SEABOARD. UNLIKE THE GELDERMALSEN'S CARGO, SOLD IN THESE ROOMS IN 1986 AS THE "NANKING CARGO", THERE ARE NO PERSONAL ARTEFACTS RECOVERED, NO SHIPPING MANIFESTS, NO JUDICIAL RECORDS TO HELP IDENTIFY THE LIKELY DESTINATIONS AND THE ORGIN OF THE CARGO. THE BEST EVIDENCE LIES IN A STUDY OF THE CARGO ITSELF, FOR THE CHINESE PORCELAIN THAT COMPRISES IT IS A VERY REMARKABLE CONSIGNMENT INDEED. THE PORCELAIN THE PROVINCIAL COASTAL KILNS OF CHINA, AND THE MORE SOPHISTICATED INLAND ONES AT JINGDEZHEN IN SOUTH CENTRAL CHINA, HAD BEEN PRODUCING 'EXPORT-MARKET' CERAMICS FOR WELL OVER A THOUSAND YEARS BEFORE OUR JUNK LOADED ITS ILL-FATED CONSIGNMENT. ARAB DHOWS FROM THE NEAR EAST, OCEAN-GOING CHINESE JUNKS CAPABLE OF TRAVELLING TO INDIA, AND "COUNTRY" BOATS COMMUTING UNDER WESTERN LICENSE FROM INDIA TO CHINA HAD ALL HELPED TRANSPORT MIDDLE AND LOW QUALITY CHINESE PORCELAIN ACROSS REMARKABLE DISTANCES. THE ARRIVAL OF WESTERN SHIPS EXTENDED THE RANGE EVEN FURTHER. SPANISH GALLEONS FROM MANILA TOOK IT TO ACAPULCO, AND EVEN ULTIMATELY BACK TO SPAIN ACROSS THE ATLANTIC; SLOW-SAILING PORTUGESE MERCHANT SHIPS FROM MACAO DELIVERED IT UP THE RIVER TEGUS TO THE COURT IN LISBON; AND LATTERLY IN THE 17TH AND 18TH CENTURY, AGGRESSIVE MERCHANTS FROM HOLLAND, ENGLAND, FRANCE, EVEN DENMARK AND SWEDEN SHIPPED IT TO THEIR RESPECTIVE COMPANY HEADQUARTERS FOR LOCAL SALE, NORMALLY AT HUGE PUBLIC AUCTIONS DOMINATED BY WHOLESALE "CHINAMEN". DATING AS IT DOES FROM VERY CLOSE TO AD1690, THE PORCELAIN IS EXCEPTIONALLY INTERESTING FOR TWO REASONS. FIRSTLY, IT WAS MADE WITHIN A DECADE OF AD1683, THE YEAR CERAMIC HISTORIANS REGARD AS THE OFFICIAL DATE OF THE RE-OPENING OF CHINA'S MAJOR PORCELAIN KILNS, AT JINGDEZHEN. CIVIL WAR HAD DISRUPTED INDUSTRY SINCE THE 1630'S, AS NORTHERN MANCHU INVADERS SYSTEMATICALLY DROVE THE NATIVE MING DYNASTY COURT SOUTHWARDS AND INTO EXILE. THE RECORDS SHOW THAT JINGDEZHEN SUFFERED BADLY FROM THE ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL DISLOCATION; WHILE FUJIAN PROVINCE, WHERE BLANC-DE-CHINE WAS MADE, WAS A LAST CENTRE OF RESISTANCE TO THE VICTORIOUS MANCHUS, AND SUFFERED ACCORDINGLY. ALTHOUGH THE MANCHUS DATED THEIR NEW HEGEMONY FROM AD1644, THE DISRUPTION CAUSED BOTH TO CERAMIC PRODUCTION, AND TO THE EXPORT TRADE, IS TRADITIONALLY BELIEVED TO HAVE LASTED FOR SEVERAL MORE DECADES. THE DUTCH ONLY OFFICIALLY RESUMED IMPORTATION OF CHINESE CERAMICS IN 1681; AFTER A BREAK OF SOME THREE DECADES DURING THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD, WHEN IT WAS EASIER TO BUY AND IMPORT JAPANESE CERAMICS. BY 1690, THE INDUSTRY HAD RECOVERED. THE PRESENT CARGO SHOWS DRAMATICALLY, AND IN A WAY NEVER BEFORE NOTED SO CLEARLY BY CERAMIC HISTORIANS, THAT WESTERN DEMAND APPARENTLY PLAYED A DIRECT AND INFLUENTIAL ROLE IN THIS RECOVERY. IT WAS NOT JUST IN RESTIMULATING THE INDUSTRY, BUT EVEN MORE SO BY SUPPLYING SPECIFIC MODELS FOR CHINESE POTTERS TO REPRODUCE IN PORCELAIN. THIS IS THE REALLY REMARKABLE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE EXPORT PORCELAIN IN THE VUNG TAU CARGO. THE CONSIGNMENTS HEADING FOR BATAVIA WERE IN MANY CASES FORMS OF OBJECTS WHICH HAD NO PRECEDENT IN CHINA OR ASIAN CERAMICS, BUT WERE CONSCIOUSLY COPYING WESTERN METAL OR GLASS SHAPES AND DESIGNS, TO CATER PRESUMABLY FOR THE BURGEONING LONG-DISTANCE TRADE TO EUROPE BASED AROUND THE ENTREPOT MARKET AT BATAVIA. THE PRINTED RECORDS OF THE DUTCH VOC GIVES SOME CLUES AS TO WHAT HAPPENED. THERE ARE NO RECORDS OF MODELS MADE OF WOOD, AND IN OTHER MATERIALS, BEING SENT TO SHOW CHINESE AND JAPANESE ARTISANS WHAT VESSELS SHOULD LOOK LIKE. INDEED, EVEN IN EUROPEAN PORCELAIN ROOMS OF THE PERIOD, THERE ARE RECORDS THAT SUCH PAINTED WOODEN VESSELS COPYING PORCELAIN WARES WERE ENTIRELY ACCEPTABLE SUBSTITUTES WHEN LOST IN AN EXTENSIVE BAROQUE DISPLAY; CERTAINLY IN GERMANY. THESE "DESIGN MODELS" WOULD HAVE BEEN DELIVERED FROM HOLLAND, THROUGH BATAVIA OR CANTON, TO CHINESE MERCHANTS CONTROLLING THE COMPLICATED CERAMICS TRADE WITH JINGDEZHEN. DURING THE WARM DRY POTTING SEASON, WHEN THE CLAY WAS MALLEABLE, THE MODELS WOULD HAVE BEEN DELIVERED, MOULDS MADE, THE COMMISSIONS PREPARED, AND THE PECULIAR FINISHED PRODUCTS FINALLY RETURNED TO THE ASIAN PORT OF ORIGIN - PERHAPS A YEAR LATER. AMONG THE VESSELS IN THE CARGO SHOWING CLEAR WESTERN INSPIRATION, THE STANDING PIECES WITH MULTI-KNOPPED STEMS ARE PERHAPS MOST OBVIOUSLY INFLUENCED BY THE 17TH CENTURY PREFERENCE FOR 'TURNED' DECORATION; BARLEY-TWIST LEGS ON FURNITURE, ROWS OF HORIZONTAL FLANGES UP THE STEMS OF GLASSES AND CANDLESTICKS, 'TIERED' FINIALS ON SILVER CUPS. GOBLETS AND COVERS, WINE CUPS, FLAT-TOPPED TAZZE, SMALL VASES WITH ELABORATE LOWER PARTS, DEEP CUPS WITH SHALLOW COVERS; THESE ARE REMARKABLE SHAPES, IRRESISTIBLY WESTERN IN INSPIRATION. VERY MANY OF THE SMALL VASES ARE POTTED WITH SPIRAL PANELS IN SHALLOW RELIEF. THIS, TOO, IS MOST UNUSUAL IN CHINESE CERAMICS, BUT CAN EASILY BE FOUND IN EUROPAN DECORATION AT THE PERIOD. IT MUST SURELY REPRODUCE A SPECIFIC WESTERN INSTRUCTION, BECAUSE BY THAT TIME THERE WAS NO ESTABLISHED EASTERN TRADITION OF THIS SOMEWHAT DISTURBING DESIGN ELEMENT, WHICH IMPARTS MOVEMENT AND A CERTAIN APPARENT ASYMMETRY TO PERFECTLY STANDARD LITTLE STORAGE VASES AND BEAKERS. THE PAINTED DESIGNS, TOO, REFLECT A BLED OF TRADITIONAL EASTERN PATTERNS, AND SOME REMARKABLE WESTERN INNOVATIONS. THE CARGO CONTAINS AN EXCEPTIONAL RANGE OF FAIRLY SIMPLE FLORAL PATTERNS DRAWN WITH CROSS-HATCHING FILLING IN THE MAIN FIELDS, QUITE UNLIKE ANYTHING CHINESE, BUT ENTIRELY SIMILAR TO WESTERN PRINTS WITH CROSS-HATCHED BACKGROUNDS. A GROUP OF SHALLOW COVERS FOR CUPS HAVE AN EXTRAORDINARY DESIGN; A SEATED WESTERN MONARCH AND QUEEEN, CLEARLY HOLDING AN ORB AND SCEPTRE, AND KNOWN ONLY FROM ABOUT TEN EXAMPLES WHERE THE PATTERN IS ACCOMPANIED BY A VIRTOUOS FRENCH PROVERB. AND, ABOVE ALL, A SERIES OF LARGE VASES- SOME BALUSTER SHAPED WITH COVERS, SOME OF FLARING FORM - ARE UNIQUELY PAINTED WITH PANELS OF TALL, GABLED, TIGHTLY-CLUSTERED NON- CHINESE HOUSES THAT HAVE AN UNCANNY RESEMBLANCE TO DUTCH CANAL HOUSES OF THE PERIOD. SINCE THE DESIGN IS COMBINED WITH AN ENTIRELY BAROQUE CARTOUCHE OF PENDANT SWAYS OF FLOWERS, IT SEEMS VERY LIKELY THAT HERE TOO WE SEE A VERY EARLY APPEARANCE ON CHINESE EXPORT PORCELAIN OF PRECISELY-COPIED DUTCH PRINTS. SECONDLY, THE ACADEMIC INTEREST OF THE PORCELAIN ITSELF IS ONLY ONE SIDE OF THE FASCINATION THIS CARGO HOLDS FOR HISTORIANS. EQUALLY REVEALING IS THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SAME COIN; THE EFFECT THIS TYPE OF PORCELAIN HAD, WHEN IT ARRIVED IN EUROPE. THIS WAS NOT PORCELAIN FOR EVERY-DAY USE; DINNER SERVICES, SOUP PLATES, CUPS AND SAUCERS, ALL THE MORE STANDARD EXPORT QUALITY TABLE WARES OF THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURY. THESE WERE DISPLAY PIECES, PORCELAIN TO BE USED IN ARCHITECTURAL ASSEMBLAGES; STANDING VESSELS WHICH COULD BE BUILT INTO ROOM ORNAMENTATION OR USED TO DRESS AN IMPOSING PIECE OF FURNITURE. CHINESE EXPORT WARES SUCH AS THESE WERE COMING BACK TO A EUROPE IN THE GRIP OF NEW ENTHUSIASMS. POLITICAL REFORM, STOCK MARKET, FRENZIES, MARITIME EXPANSION, MASSIVELY PROFITABLE NEW INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY; ALL WERE BURGEONING ENTERPRISES IN COSMOPOLITAN COUNTRIES RECENTLY RELEASED FROM CRIPPLING LAND AND SEA WARS, AND FREE TO FLEX THEIR MUSCLES ECONOMICALLY, POLITICALLY, SOCIALLY AND CULTURALLY. INTO THIS LATE 17TH CENTURY WELTER OF CULTURAL EXPLORATION, FULL OF SUDDEN FANCIES AND FASHIONS, OF TEA-DRINKING AND TULIPMANIA, CAME AN OPPORTUNITY TO TRANSFORM A CHEAPISH EXPORT OF CHINA INTO THE VERY PINEAPPLE OF POLITENESS. LIKE AN EXOTIC HOTHOUSE BLOOM INTRODUCED TO A SOMEWHAT STOLID DRAWING ROOM, THE ARCHITECTURAL USE OF IMPORTED CHINESE AND JAPANESE PORCELAIN REVOLUTIONISED TASTE AND INTERIOR DECORATION IN MANY OF THE GREATEST EUROPEAN HOUSES FROM LISBON TO ST. PETERSBURG IT WAS, AS THE ENGLISH WRITER DANIEL DEFOE DESCRIBED IT SOMEWHAT CRITICALLY, THE NEW ENGLISH QUEEN MARY II WHO "BROUGHT IN THE CUSTOM OR HUMOUR, AS I MAY CALL IT, OF FURNISHING HOUSES WITH CHINA-WARE WHICH INCREASED TO A STRANGE DEGREE AFTERWARDS, PILING CHINA UPON THE TOPS OF CABINETS, SCRUTORES (WRITING STANDS), AND EVERY CHYMNEY-PIECE, TO THE TOPS OF THE CEILINGS, AND EVEN SETTING UP SHELVES FOR THEIR CHINA-WARE, WHERE THEY WANTED [LACKED] SUCH PLACES...". SINCE THE 16TH CENTURY, PRECIOUS OBJECTS AND EVEN SOME PORCELAIN HAD BEEN DISPLAYED, IN SYMMETRICAL WALL ARRANGEMENTS ON INDIVIDUAL SMALL BRACKETS. THIS TRADITION WAS CONTINUED, BUT NOW IT WAS THE MASSED EFFECT WHICH MATTERED. THOSE WHO DISLIKED THE NOVEL FAD, AND EVEN THOSE WHO ENJOYED THE CONTRASTS IT CREATED, CALLED THE PHENOMENON 'CHINAMANIA'. CHINAMANIA POPULARISATION OF THIS FASHION, USING MASSED PORCELAIN TO DRESS THE FIXED ORNAMENTATION OF A ROOM, IS CREDITED TO A FRENCH HUGENOT, DANIEL MAROT (1661-1752). DRIVEN FROM FRANCE LIKE MANY OF HIS PROTESTANT CONFRERES JUST BEFORE THE REVOCATION OF THE EDICT OF NANTES IN 1685, HE ESTABLISHED HIMSELF AS ARCHITECT AT THE COURT IN HOLLAND OF THE ORANGE STADTHOLDER WILLIAM AND HIS WIFE MARY, SOON TO BE CROWNED KING WILLIAM III AND QUEEN MARY II OF ENGLAND IN 1689. MAROT'S SKILLS AS A DESIGNER TOUCHED ON MANY AREAS OF INTERIOR DECORATION; CLOCK CASES, FURNITURE, WALL HANGINGS, PLASTERWORK, HE WAS CONCERNED WITH ALL THE DETAILS OF A CHIC INTERIOR IN A MODIFIED FRENCH MANNER. BUT ONE THING HE DID NOT LEARN FROM CURRENT FASHION AT VERSAILLES, WHERE EUROPEAN FASHION WAS INCREASINGLY SET DURING THE PERIOD, WAS TO INCORPORATE PORCELAIN INTO ROOM DETAILING, ALONG THE TOPS OF CORNICES, UP TIERED FIREPLACE OVERMANTELS, ON CORNER HANGING BRACKETS, INSIDE DOOR REVEALS. THE STYLE WAS, TO BE FAIR, KNOWN IN FRANCE, BUT THE POPULARISATION OF THIS STRIKING USAGE WAS LARGELY HIS ACHIEVEMENT; INITIALLY IN HOLLAND, LATTERLY IN ENGLAND AT HAMPTON COURT AND ELSEWHERE. THERE WAS AN IDENTIFIABLE "DUTCH" STYLE IN THIS MANNER OF DISPLAY, WHICH DIFFERENTIATED IT FROM ITALIANS, GERMANS AND FRENCHMEN WHO ALSO COLLECTED PORCELAIN DURING THE 17TH CENTURY, AND ORGANISED IT IN CAREFUL DISPLAYS. (JOHAN MOOLENAAR: HET VERVOLG VAN DEZE INLEIDING TREF JE AAN VOORAFGAAND AAN DE BESCHRIJVING VAN LOT 532 ! DE HELE INTRODUKTIE MOET IN HET VOORWERK GEPLAATST WORDEN) WEDNESDAY, 8 APRIL 1992 MORNING SESSION, AT 10.30 A.M. PRECISELY (LOTS 531 - 740) PHYSICAL CONDITION OF THE LOTS DUE TO THESE LOTS BEING RECOVERED FROM A SHIPWRECK, MANY HAVE SUSTAINED EITHER SOME DAMAGE OR MINOR GLAZE DETERIATION THERE IS NO MENTION OF THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF ANY LOT IN THE PRINTED CATALGOUE DESCRIPTION ALL LOTS ARE SOLD IN LINE WITH THE CONDITION OF SALE PRINTED AT THE FRONT OF THIS CATALOGUE. INTENDING BIDDERS ARE ADVISED TO REQUEST CONDITION REPORTS OR VIEW LOTS IN WHICH THEY ARE INTERESTED, AS THE CONDITION OF INDIVIDUAL PIECES WITHIN SETS OR MULTIPLE LOTS MAY VARY SIZES GIVEN ARE APPROXIMATE AND REFER TO THE TALLER VASE IN EACH LOT OR LARGEST MEASURMENT 'CANAL HOUSES' GARNITURES

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