A RARE CHINESE IMARI ARMORIAL CHARGER

CIRCA 1715-20

Details

A RARE CHINESE IMARI ARMORIAL CHARGER
Circa 1715-20
A large coat-of-arms in the center for Philippe, duc d'Orléans, in verte-Imari colors, the wide rim filled with grasses, blooms and buds between cobalt blue bands, on the back three sketchy peony boughs and in the center an underglaze blue conch shell mark within a double circle
15¼in. (38.7cm.) diam.

Provenance

A South American private collection
Sold Christie's New York, 24 January 1997, lot 33

Lot Essay

Made for Philippe, duc d'Orléans (1674-1723) and brother of Louis XIV, whose 1724 postmortem inventory refers to 300 or more pieces of Chinese porcelain, including a service with his coat-of-arms. Orléans, a sophisticated and refined man who moved the Court from Versailles to Paris on the 1715 death of his brother, employed a group of designers and artists in his household under the direction of the architect Giles-Marie Oppenord. He also founded the Saint-Cloud porcelain factory, which operated with his backing and protection in the Orléans family Saint-Cloud chateau, which also housed much of his extensive art collection. See J. Whitehead, The French Interior in the 18th Century, pp. 23-27, and d'Albis et al, The Saint-Cloud Manufactory, p. 180. See also A. Lebel, Christie's International Magazine, January 2003, where the author notes that d'Orléans was always at the forefront of fashion

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