CIRCA 1731-1733

Details

A famille rose Dutch armorial teapot and cover and tea-caddy and cover
Circa 1731-1733
The pear-shaped teapot and hexagonal tea-caddy painted to two sides with a panel including the coat-of-arms of the Fiers family, consisting of a pink chevron on a black background surmounted by a gold rising bird with scrolling leafy mantling, the sides with two honeycomb-pattern panels with lotus-heads, all reserved on a turquoise diaper-pattern ground, the covers with diaper-bands around the rim and knop finial (2)

Special notice

Christie’s charges a premium to the buyer on the Hammer Price of each lot sold at the following rates: 29.75% of the Hammer Price of each lot up to and including €5,000, plus 23.8% of the Hammer Price between €5,001 and €400,000, plus 14.28% of any amount in excess of €400,001. Buyer’s premium is calculated on the basis of each lot individually.

Lot Essay

These pieces are part of the third Fiers service, probably ordered in Canton by Gerrit Fiers, who stayed there in 1731 and 1733 as the captain of the ship the Nieuwvliet. Interestingly, members of the crew of this ship ordered porcelain with similar diaper patterns. The fact that low-paid seamen could order porcelain of such quality suggests, according to Dr. J. Kroes, that they probably had special connections with the porcelain makers and painters in Canton.
For a further discussion on this type of porcelain, see Dr. J. Kroes, Chinese Armorial Porcelain for the Dutch Market, Zwolle, 2007, p. 160.

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