A CHINESE FAMILLE VERTE ARMORIAL 'PROVINCE' DISH

At least five series of dishes, plates and barber's basins were made in the 1720s depicting the arms of Holland, England, France, Luxembourg, and numerous Dutch and Flemish provinces and cities. Twenty-three different arms appear to be recorded, although there is no documentary evidence to prove that each series comprised quite as many different examples, and judging by the spelling of the names, it is likely they were made to Dutch order. For a discussion on these series, see C. Le Corbeilller, China Trade Porcelain: Patterns of Exchange, New York, 1974, pp. 38 and 39, where the author suggests that these series may have been ordered to commemorate the Triple Alliance formed by Holland, England and France in 1717. The series of which this is an example is probably the earliest.