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Lot Essay
Fish appeared as decoration on Chinese ceramics as early as the Neolithic period, and have remained a popular theme in Chinese art, especially ceramics and paintings, ever since. Vessels made in the form of fish, especially two confronted fish, were popular during the Tang dynasty (AD 618-907) and again in the 18th century. Much of the popularity of fish as a decorative theme, especially in later dynasties, hinges on the fact that the word for fish ( yu) is a homophone for the word for abundance, and the word for carp (li) a homophone for the word for profit. The Chinese potter and artist given the task of making these tureens was therefore quite familiar with the form, and has retained the naturalistic form depicted centuries earlier, for example, on the Yuan dynasty blue and white jar sold in these Rooms, 11 July 2006, lot 111.
The most closely related European fish tureens, which may have been a source of inspiration for this model, are those made at Chelsea, circa 1755, albeit in very small quantities. The Chelsea tureens are somewhat smaller (approximately 40 cm. long), are similarly modelled, but are depicted without the opening at the mouth, and without the head and tail curling upwards; the cover is formed as the upper half of the entire fish. Compare the Chinese small carp tureen (21.6 cm. long) decorated in iron-red and gilt from the Mottahedeh collection, Howard and Ayers, China for the West, London and New York, 1978, vol.II, no. 612, p. 588, which is similarly modelled to the Chelsea examples but is depicted with raised head and tail. During the period 1745 - 1770, sauceboats and stands modelled as plaice were made at Chelsea which, although very different in form, are modelled with curled up tails and open mouths; the mouths would have originally held the spoons (see the pair of plaice sauceboats and stands exhibited The Treasure Houses of Britain, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985, no. 423). It is interesting to note that all recorded examples of Chinese export carp tureens, both armorial and non-armorial, appear to be modelled facing the same way as those in the present lot.
The coat-of-arms on the tureens in the present lot are those of Ochoa de Olza, of Navarra, Spain; see Aurelio Erdozáin Gaztelu, Linajes de Navarra con Escudos de Armas, vol. VII, pp. 335-340. The arms of Ochoa de Olza accollée with those of Gaizariáin are carved onto the façade of a house in Pamplona at 55 Plaza de San Antón (ibid., p. 338). There are several branches of this family and it is difficult to ascertain for which branch of the family these tureens were ordered; it is most likely to be a branch that had ties with trade in the New World and the Philippines. For a discussion on 'The Spanish Market', see Antonio Diez de Rivera, Oriental Art, vol. XLV, No.1, 1999, p. 42.
A famille rose goose tureen and cover belonging to John David Drummond, 17th Earl of Perth, also bearing the arms of Ochoa de Olza, although wrongly attributed at the time to Corral, was sold in these Rooms, 11 November 2003, lot 164. It is highly likely that the Ochoa de Olza family also ordered pairs of soup-tureens in the form of boars'-heads, ox-heads, and cockerels, in addition to carp and geese; each would have had its matching porcelain stand. Smaller vegetable and sauce-tureens in the form of carp, quails, crabs, chickens and ducks, amongst other animal forms, were possibly also ordered, although are very rarely found bearing coats-of-arms. Armorial animal tureens appear to have been made exclusively for the Spanish market, with the arms of various noble Spanish families being recorded.
Only one other armorial carp of this size appears to have been published. Bearing the arms of Gálvez, it is without stand and has a replacement silver cover. It is now in a private collection in Mexico, and is illustrated by Jean McClure Mudge, Chinese Export Porcelain in North America, New York, 1986, p. 55, fig. 65 where the arms are wrongly attributed to Don Matias de Gálvez y Gallardo. Mr. Antonio Diez de Rivera has researched these arms and finds they correspond in fact to Mr. José de Gálvez, uncle to the Count of Gálvez and elder brother to Don Matias.
A pair of smaller armorial carp tureens (about 26 cm. long), complete with matching stands, were bought several years ago from the London dealers Cohen & Cohen by an American private collector. The arms on these, erroneously thought originally to be those of the Barutell family, have not yet been identified.
Non-armorial carp tureens of this size are also rare. Two decorated in most unusual palettes were sold in our New York Rooms, 26 January 2006: one, lot 38, was decorated in iron-red and pale grey, with similar gilt speckling to that in the present lot; the other, lot 39, with later metal cover, was very brightly enamelled in shades of yellowish-green, blue, and puce; both came from the Estate of Mr. and Mrs. J. Richardson Dilworth. Also unusual are those decorated with famille rose enamels in addition to the iron-red and gilt. Of these, a pair from the Hastings Collection with puce enamel bodies and iron-red and gilt heads was sold Sotheby's 8 December 1958, lot 75. A single example, with iron-red and gilt body and puce enamel on the head, was sold Sotheby's 29 June 1976, lot 289; and another in Sotheby's Monaco, 29 February 1992, lot 536.
Slightly more common are those just decorated in iron-red and gilt. One, also with sepia tones, is in the East India Museum (Stadsmuseum), Gothenburg, and was bought for Niklas Sahlgren (1701 - 1776), a director of the East India Company. It is illustrated by J. A. Lloyd Hyde, Oriental Lowestoft, Newport, 1964, plate XII, fig. 32, and by Stig Roth, Chinese Porcelain, imported by The Swedish East India Company, Gothenburg, 1965, front cover and fig. 36, p. 27. Another, decorated in iron-red and gilt, was included in The Chinese Porcelain Company, A Dealer's Record, 1985-2000, New York, 2000, p. 178, which is now in an American private collection. A third example of similar size and similarly enamelled was in the Collection of H.H. The Prince of Ligne, sold Sotheby's, 28 May 1968, lot 227.
A large carp tureen and cover, which is interesting from a historical point of view, is the undecorated example in the Copeland Collection at the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, illustrated by W. Sargent, The Copeland Collection, Salem, 1991, no. 102, pp. 212 - 213. This tureen, of very similar form to those in the present lot, bears a now faded note on the inside of the cover, which appears to read:
This Dolphin was caught in the Bay of Biscay otherwise taken from the French Ship La Ménagère captured 12th Decm. 1782 by His Majesty's Ship Mediator of 44 guns. Honbl. J. Luttrell Comdr. after an action of 24 hours duration during which the French Ship had three men killed and five wounded. My father Purser of the Mediator myself a Volunteer [initialled illegibly].
Captain James Luttrell (1751?-1788) was appointed to the Mediator on 16 March 1782. According to the entry for Luttrell in The Dictionary of National Biography, the encounter mentioned in the note took place in Ferrol Bay, Galicia, Spain (part of Bay of Biscay). The inscription was evidently written by Thomas Harvieson, a seaman on the Mediator, whose father Henry Harvieson was purser on the same ship. The Copeland tureen had formerly been sold Sotheby's 25 May 1971, lot 131; another undecorated carp of this large size, without cover, from the Collection of Mrs. Ellen M. F. Sainsbury, was sold Sotheby's 15 October 1968, lot 170.
The 18th century ormolu stands for these tureens are unusual in design, and were adapted individually for each of the carp. They show many characteristics of ormolu of that period, such as the thickness of the cast, the minor flaws in the bronze and the un-used fixation holes on the underside, indicating that they were made using a mould from a chef modèle (main model). The style of chasing and the somewhat naive naturalistic treatment of the leaves and the rockwork suggest that these mounts may not be French; in view of the fact these carp were to Spanish order, they may well be Spanish.
The most closely related European fish tureens, which may have been a source of inspiration for this model, are those made at Chelsea, circa 1755, albeit in very small quantities. The Chelsea tureens are somewhat smaller (approximately 40 cm. long), are similarly modelled, but are depicted without the opening at the mouth, and without the head and tail curling upwards; the cover is formed as the upper half of the entire fish. Compare the Chinese small carp tureen (21.6 cm. long) decorated in iron-red and gilt from the Mottahedeh collection, Howard and Ayers, China for the West, London and New York, 1978, vol.II, no. 612, p. 588, which is similarly modelled to the Chelsea examples but is depicted with raised head and tail. During the period 1745 - 1770, sauceboats and stands modelled as plaice were made at Chelsea which, although very different in form, are modelled with curled up tails and open mouths; the mouths would have originally held the spoons (see the pair of plaice sauceboats and stands exhibited The Treasure Houses of Britain, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985, no. 423). It is interesting to note that all recorded examples of Chinese export carp tureens, both armorial and non-armorial, appear to be modelled facing the same way as those in the present lot.
The coat-of-arms on the tureens in the present lot are those of Ochoa de Olza, of Navarra, Spain; see Aurelio Erdozáin Gaztelu, Linajes de Navarra con Escudos de Armas, vol. VII, pp. 335-340. The arms of Ochoa de Olza accollée with those of Gaizariáin are carved onto the façade of a house in Pamplona at 55 Plaza de San Antón (ibid., p. 338). There are several branches of this family and it is difficult to ascertain for which branch of the family these tureens were ordered; it is most likely to be a branch that had ties with trade in the New World and the Philippines. For a discussion on 'The Spanish Market', see Antonio Diez de Rivera, Oriental Art, vol. XLV, No.1, 1999, p. 42.
A famille rose goose tureen and cover belonging to John David Drummond, 17th Earl of Perth, also bearing the arms of Ochoa de Olza, although wrongly attributed at the time to Corral, was sold in these Rooms, 11 November 2003, lot 164. It is highly likely that the Ochoa de Olza family also ordered pairs of soup-tureens in the form of boars'-heads, ox-heads, and cockerels, in addition to carp and geese; each would have had its matching porcelain stand. Smaller vegetable and sauce-tureens in the form of carp, quails, crabs, chickens and ducks, amongst other animal forms, were possibly also ordered, although are very rarely found bearing coats-of-arms. Armorial animal tureens appear to have been made exclusively for the Spanish market, with the arms of various noble Spanish families being recorded.
Only one other armorial carp of this size appears to have been published. Bearing the arms of Gálvez, it is without stand and has a replacement silver cover. It is now in a private collection in Mexico, and is illustrated by Jean McClure Mudge, Chinese Export Porcelain in North America, New York, 1986, p. 55, fig. 65 where the arms are wrongly attributed to Don Matias de Gálvez y Gallardo. Mr. Antonio Diez de Rivera has researched these arms and finds they correspond in fact to Mr. José de Gálvez, uncle to the Count of Gálvez and elder brother to Don Matias.
A pair of smaller armorial carp tureens (about 26 cm. long), complete with matching stands, were bought several years ago from the London dealers Cohen & Cohen by an American private collector. The arms on these, erroneously thought originally to be those of the Barutell family, have not yet been identified.
Non-armorial carp tureens of this size are also rare. Two decorated in most unusual palettes were sold in our New York Rooms, 26 January 2006: one, lot 38, was decorated in iron-red and pale grey, with similar gilt speckling to that in the present lot; the other, lot 39, with later metal cover, was very brightly enamelled in shades of yellowish-green, blue, and puce; both came from the Estate of Mr. and Mrs. J. Richardson Dilworth. Also unusual are those decorated with famille rose enamels in addition to the iron-red and gilt. Of these, a pair from the Hastings Collection with puce enamel bodies and iron-red and gilt heads was sold Sotheby's 8 December 1958, lot 75. A single example, with iron-red and gilt body and puce enamel on the head, was sold Sotheby's 29 June 1976, lot 289; and another in Sotheby's Monaco, 29 February 1992, lot 536.
Slightly more common are those just decorated in iron-red and gilt. One, also with sepia tones, is in the East India Museum (Stadsmuseum), Gothenburg, and was bought for Niklas Sahlgren (1701 - 1776), a director of the East India Company. It is illustrated by J. A. Lloyd Hyde, Oriental Lowestoft, Newport, 1964, plate XII, fig. 32, and by Stig Roth, Chinese Porcelain, imported by The Swedish East India Company, Gothenburg, 1965, front cover and fig. 36, p. 27. Another, decorated in iron-red and gilt, was included in The Chinese Porcelain Company, A Dealer's Record, 1985-2000, New York, 2000, p. 178, which is now in an American private collection. A third example of similar size and similarly enamelled was in the Collection of H.H. The Prince of Ligne, sold Sotheby's, 28 May 1968, lot 227.
A large carp tureen and cover, which is interesting from a historical point of view, is the undecorated example in the Copeland Collection at the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, illustrated by W. Sargent, The Copeland Collection, Salem, 1991, no. 102, pp. 212 - 213. This tureen, of very similar form to those in the present lot, bears a now faded note on the inside of the cover, which appears to read:
This Dolphin was caught in the Bay of Biscay otherwise taken from the French Ship La Ménagère captured 12th Decm. 1782 by His Majesty's Ship Mediator of 44 guns. Honbl. J. Luttrell Comdr. after an action of 24 hours duration during which the French Ship had three men killed and five wounded. My father Purser of the Mediator myself a Volunteer [initialled illegibly].
Captain James Luttrell (1751?-1788) was appointed to the Mediator on 16 March 1782. According to the entry for Luttrell in The Dictionary of National Biography, the encounter mentioned in the note took place in Ferrol Bay, Galicia, Spain (part of Bay of Biscay). The inscription was evidently written by Thomas Harvieson, a seaman on the Mediator, whose father Henry Harvieson was purser on the same ship. The Copeland tureen had formerly been sold Sotheby's 25 May 1971, lot 131; another undecorated carp of this large size, without cover, from the Collection of Mrs. Ellen M. F. Sainsbury, was sold Sotheby's 15 October 1968, lot 170.
The 18th century ormolu stands for these tureens are unusual in design, and were adapted individually for each of the carp. They show many characteristics of ormolu of that period, such as the thickness of the cast, the minor flaws in the bronze and the un-used fixation holes on the underside, indicating that they were made using a mould from a chef modèle (main model). The style of chasing and the somewhat naive naturalistic treatment of the leaves and the rockwork suggest that these mounts may not be French; in view of the fact these carp were to Spanish order, they may well be Spanish.