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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.
Animal-form tureens reached their zenith of popularity in the last quarter of the 18th century, and elaborated models such as geese, boar's heads, fish, small ducks and elephants are all testaments of the artistry of the Chinese potter at this time.
They were made for export to Europe and appeared at a time when fashion for export animals happened to coincide with the trend for ceramic soup and vegetable tureens.
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 Juan Bautista de Uztariz y Gaztelu. Born in Navarra (Spain) on 2nd November 1728, he married Pascuala de Ariztegui who died in 1758 without any children. In 1756 he was made a Knight of the Spanish Military Order of Santiago and was awarded by King Charles III the title of Count of Reparaz in 1763. He owned and lived in the family Palace 'Cabo de Armeria' in Reparacea (Oyergui, Navarra) where the coat-of-arms are painted on one of the main wall.
The Uztariz brothers owned a shipping company in Cadix (Andalusia) that obtain permission to trade directly with the Philippines and China. It is undoubtly through this company that Juan Bautista ordered the porcelain service and one of his ship must have transported it to Spain.
The arms can be described as follow:
- A shield surmounted by a crown of Count with banners and military attributes on the back and in the mantling the Cross of the Knights of Saint James.
- In the first half a pot with seven white lilies and two smaller stars in the upper part and two bigger stars in the lower part.
- The second half quartered: The first quarter with waves representing the sea and a mermaid with half her body below the waves, holding a comb with which she is combing her hair and a candle or torch, on the upper side, three triangled silver ermines, on the opposite side, a tower
The second quarter with a green tree, a crossed boar, and a blue star on the upper left corner.
The third quarter with five "poplar leafs" (?).
The fourth quarter like the first one without the tower and with the mermaid in the center.
For further discussion on these arms see Julio de Atienza, Nobiliario Espanol, p.939. For a discussion on 'The Spanish Market', see Antonio Diez de Rivera, Oriental Art, vol. XLV, No.1, 1999, p. 42.
See the impressive Famille rose armorial boar's head tureen with presentation dish also bearing the arms of Juan Bautista de Ustariz y Gaztelu, published in J. McClure Mudge, Chinese Export Porcelain in North America, New York 1986, pl.68, and sold at Sotheby's New York, 14 October 1993, lot 207.
Only one other armorial carp of this size appears to have been published. Bearing Spanish arms, 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 Galvez y Gallardo. Mr. Antonio Diez de Rivera has researched these arms and finds they correspond in fact to Mr. Josi de Galvez, uncle to the Count of Galvez and elder brother to Don Matias.
Unpublished but very similar to the present lot is the impressive pair of ormolu-mounted Famille rose armorial 'carp' tureens bearing the coat-of-arms of the Spanish family of Ochoa de Olza. Formely in the collection of Maria Cristina de Borbon y de Muguiro, Duquesa de Marchena, it has been sold in our London Rooms, 7 November 2006, lot 277.
For a very similar presentation dish, decorated with identical carp but with a slightly different border pattern, see the sale held at Drouot Paris, Piasa, 7 March 2003, lot 57.
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.
See also the one offred at Sotheby's New York, 23 October 1992, lot 98.
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 at 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 at Sotheby's 15 October 1968, lot 170.
Such 'carp' tureens with matching presentation dishes were included in large services comprising other animal-form tureens such as goose-form tureens, boar's heads and smaller duck-form examples, all bearing the coat-of-arms and fitted with corresponding stands.
The Chinese Porcelain Company illustrated a rare Famille rose armorial cockerel tureen together with its matching presentation dish in their Catalogue, 'Important Chinese Export Porcelain and Works of Art', New York, 11-30 May 1998, pp.75-77, pl.54. Made for the Spanish market, both the tureen and the presentation dish bear the coat-of-arms of the Asteguieta family. In the caption, its is precised that other figural tureens from the same service have been made and published.
For two other very rare sets including a boar's head tureen and its presentation dish, see 'Du Tage à la Mer d'Egée - Une Epopée Portuguaise', catalogue, Palacio Nacional de Queluz, 30 March-30 April 1992 and Muséé National des Arts Asiatique, Guimet, Paris, 19 May-31 August 1992, pp.182-183, pl.86.; and the set sold in our New York Rooms, 22 May 1985, lot 154.
More recently sold in our New York Rooms is also a crab-tureen on fixed stand, 20-21 September 2004, lot 327.
Animal-form tureens reached their zenith of popularity in the last quarter of the 18th century, and elaborated models such as geese, boar's heads, fish, small ducks and elephants are all testaments of the artistry of the Chinese potter at this time.
They were made for export to Europe and appeared at a time when fashion for export animals happened to coincide with the trend for ceramic soup and vegetable tureens.
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 Juan Bautista de Uztariz y Gaztelu. Born in Navarra (Spain) on 2nd November 1728, he married Pascuala de Ariztegui who died in 1758 without any children. In 1756 he was made a Knight of the Spanish Military Order of Santiago and was awarded by King Charles III the title of Count of Reparaz in 1763. He owned and lived in the family Palace 'Cabo de Armeria' in Reparacea (Oyergui, Navarra) where the coat-of-arms are painted on one of the main wall.
The Uztariz brothers owned a shipping company in Cadix (Andalusia) that obtain permission to trade directly with the Philippines and China. It is undoubtly through this company that Juan Bautista ordered the porcelain service and one of his ship must have transported it to Spain.
The arms can be described as follow:
- A shield surmounted by a crown of Count with banners and military attributes on the back and in the mantling the Cross of the Knights of Saint James.
- In the first half a pot with seven white lilies and two smaller stars in the upper part and two bigger stars in the lower part.
- The second half quartered: The first quarter with waves representing the sea and a mermaid with half her body below the waves, holding a comb with which she is combing her hair and a candle or torch, on the upper side, three triangled silver ermines, on the opposite side, a tower
The second quarter with a green tree, a crossed boar, and a blue star on the upper left corner.
The third quarter with five "poplar leafs" (?).
The fourth quarter like the first one without the tower and with the mermaid in the center.
For further discussion on these arms see Julio de Atienza, Nobiliario Espanol, p.939. For a discussion on 'The Spanish Market', see Antonio Diez de Rivera, Oriental Art, vol. XLV, No.1, 1999, p. 42.
See the impressive Famille rose armorial boar's head tureen with presentation dish also bearing the arms of Juan Bautista de Ustariz y Gaztelu, published in J. McClure Mudge, Chinese Export Porcelain in North America, New York 1986, pl.68, and sold at Sotheby's New York, 14 October 1993, lot 207.
Only one other armorial carp of this size appears to have been published. Bearing Spanish arms, 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 Galvez y Gallardo. Mr. Antonio Diez de Rivera has researched these arms and finds they correspond in fact to Mr. Josi de Galvez, uncle to the Count of Galvez and elder brother to Don Matias.
Unpublished but very similar to the present lot is the impressive pair of ormolu-mounted Famille rose armorial 'carp' tureens bearing the coat-of-arms of the Spanish family of Ochoa de Olza. Formely in the collection of Maria Cristina de Borbon y de Muguiro, Duquesa de Marchena, it has been sold in our London Rooms, 7 November 2006, lot 277.
For a very similar presentation dish, decorated with identical carp but with a slightly different border pattern, see the sale held at Drouot Paris, Piasa, 7 March 2003, lot 57.
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.
See also the one offred at Sotheby's New York, 23 October 1992, lot 98.
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 at 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 at Sotheby's 15 October 1968, lot 170.
Such 'carp' tureens with matching presentation dishes were included in large services comprising other animal-form tureens such as goose-form tureens, boar's heads and smaller duck-form examples, all bearing the coat-of-arms and fitted with corresponding stands.
The Chinese Porcelain Company illustrated a rare Famille rose armorial cockerel tureen together with its matching presentation dish in their Catalogue, 'Important Chinese Export Porcelain and Works of Art', New York, 11-30 May 1998, pp.75-77, pl.54. Made for the Spanish market, both the tureen and the presentation dish bear the coat-of-arms of the Asteguieta family. In the caption, its is precised that other figural tureens from the same service have been made and published.
For two other very rare sets including a boar's head tureen and its presentation dish, see 'Du Tage à la Mer d'Egée - Une Epopée Portuguaise', catalogue, Palacio Nacional de Queluz, 30 March-30 April 1992 and Muséé National des Arts Asiatique, Guimet, Paris, 19 May-31 August 1992, pp.182-183, pl.86.; and the set sold in our New York Rooms, 22 May 1985, lot 154.
More recently sold in our New York Rooms is also a crab-tureen on fixed stand, 20-21 September 2004, lot 327.