Lot 170
170
ARMORIAL PORCELAIN THE PROPERTY OF A FLORIDA COLLECTOR
A PAIR OF RARE FAMILLE VERTE ARMORIAL APOTHECARY JARS for the Russian market, each painted with a large coat-of-arms in the form of a double-headed eagle holding a sword in one foot and a staff in the other, the chest emblazoned with a shield, all surmounted by a coronet and surrounded by branches of fruiting peach, the foot of the jar with simple flower-heads alternating with stylised scrolls (necks restored), late Kangxi

Details
A PAIR OF RARE FAMILLE VERTE ARMORIAL APOTHECARY JARS for the Russian market, each painted with a large coat-of-arms in the form of a double-headed eagle holding a sword in one foot and a staff in the other, the chest emblazoned with a shield, all surmounted by a coronet and surrounded by branches of fruiting peach, the foot of the jar with simple flower-heads alternating with stylised scrolls (necks restored), late Kangxi
17.8cm. high (2)

Lot Essay

The arms are of those of Peter the Great (1672-1725). Cf. M. Beurdeley, op. cit., p. 125, pl. XXIII for an identical pair of jars where the necks are complete in the Dr Debat Collection, Paris. Apothecary jars of this type were apparently commissioned by Peter the Great as part of a set of apothecary wares for the official pharmacy. The double-headed eagle motif is the Russian Imperial arms, depicted here in a style that corresponds to coins minted in the reign of Peter I. These jars are proof of the interest taken by the Russian aristocracy in Chinese Export porcelain which would have reached Imperial Russian court in significant quanties through the European East India Companies.
The Kremlin has a similar cylindrical apothecary jar, together with a later Russian copy

An identical jar was sold at Christie's Monaco, 20 June 1988, lot 59

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