LATE 18TH/19TH CENTURY

Emblems of the Society of Jesus, founded in 1534, were among the very first Western motifs to appear on Chinese porcelains. Late Ming or Transitional period examples can be seen in the British Museum and in the Museum of Anastacio Goncalves, Lisbon. See M.A.P. de Matos, Chinese Export Porcelain, London, 1996, p. 138. For an example with the IHS in the correct order, see anon. sale, Christie's, New York, 25 January 2000, lot 47.