CHINE, DYNASTIE QING, CIRCA 1745

This magnificent service, apparently unique in displaying the great-grandparents' arms, was made for either Adriaan van Reverhorst (1720-51) of the Hague, a VOC merchant at Canton, or his brother Theodorus (1706-58), a member of the VOC Court of Justice in Batavia from 1735 to 52. See J. Kroes, De Nederlandsche Leeuw, no. 11-12, pp. 305-22. Dr. Kroes notes that "the level of interest in armorial porcelain was much lower (in the Netherlands) than in Britain", with some 350 Dutch armorial identified so far, and that the "much more costly tableware" was often ordered privately by directors and other officials of the VOC. He writes that "their coats of arms obviously meant a great deal to them, signifying family ties and social status".