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Subject:Re: Rose Medallion Cups/Saucers - Query
Posted By: Bill H Tue, May 05, 2020
The British Museum 'Curator's Comments' accompanying its history on a similarly patterned teapot in their collection states the following:
'Harrison-Hall and Krahl 1994: This coat of arms and motto were employed by successive English monarchs from 1714 until 1801, when George III renounced his title of King of France and the arms were altered to remove the French fleurs-de-lis (Howard, 1974, p. 499; for a bowl from the same service). However, it is unlikely that the service to which this teapot belonged was made for a member of the English Royal Family. Although George III's son, Henry Frederick, was Grand Master (i.e. highest member of the Freemasons), his period of office was from 1782 to 1790 and would seem to postdate this piece. The royal arms may refer instead to the name of a tavern in which a particular group of Freemasons met, such as the King's Arms (see BM Franks. 741+ and BM Franks. 741+A). The shape of this teapot with its branch-like spout is copied from European ceramics. Other pieces with this design include another teapot with a replacement spout in the Mottahedeh collection (Howard and Ayers, 1978, vol. I, no. 319) a punchbowl in the Bullivant collection (Howard, 1974, p. 499), a teapoy in the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, U.S.A. (mentioned by Howard, 1974, p. 499), and a tea cup in the Freemasons Hall Museum, London.'
The Winterthur Museum has the following notes in its file on the tea caddy:
'Biblio. Refs. : [Book] Palmer, Arlene. 1976. A Winterthur Guide to Chinese Export Porcelain.
Notes : Published as Figure 67 (pp. 102-103). Date is given as 1750-1760. ...
[Notes : A related, but not identical, arms of England on a dish in the V&A collection,
p. 48, fig. 60. ...
Event History :
Winterthur Object Report (Detailed: General): 1956.0046.071 Page 2 of 3:
As per Palmer (see references): "Only a few Chinese porcelains are known that bear the royal arms of England. The form of this tea container and its simple spearhead border suggest that it was made during the reign of George II, but not for the royal family." (p. 102)
As per a previous cataloguer (before /4/09): "The arms are of King George I, II or III. The piece did not belong to the Royal family."
"An old note in the record states that David Howard dated this piece circa 1780; however, the spearhead border suggests a date of 1750-75." '
Best regards,
Bill H
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