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The embedded link below opens a discussion I launched here 1n 2015 regarding a creamer jug I'd found with the Hanoverian arms of King George III with a cartouche underneath containing Masonic symbols. In addition to the forum's Armorial maven, Plasticman, his contact Angela Howard of Heirloom and Howard, Ltd. of London and widow of the late Armorial expert and author, David Sanctuary Howard, was my interlocutor then and has continued graciously to offer valuable information regarding the jug shown here, for which I finally found a mate-worthy period cover in a recent online auction. It is the only cream jug from a tea service in this particular royal pattern, which was used by the Duke of Gloucester who served as Grand Master at the Royal London Grand lodge of Freemasonry during the reign of George III.

Thought I'd invite Plasticman and others to reopen the discussion. I've been wondering if the cover's black-outlined gilt spearhead rim design might be considered anomalous to the red outlined gilt spearheads on the jug. However, thanks to Mrs. Howard, I'm aware that one of two teapots known from the same service has an ill-fitting cover, as illustrated in Howard's 'China for the West'. The other has no lid, although it has an apparently black-outlined gilt design around its top rim in a color illustration in Howard's 'Chinese Armorial Porcelain Vol, II.

Documenting this piece has been one of the most gratifying tasks of my long career as a Chinese porcelain collector.

All comments welcome.

Best regards,

Bill H.








Link :JUG WITH ARMS OF HANOVER WITH MASONIC SYMBOLS

Much as I would like to say this lid matches the body of the creamer,alas, my opinion is that it is a "marriage". First impressions do count, and I feel the spearhead color and the floral lid decoration just "scream" that the pieces once had different origins. No one knows all, and though I have collected since 1973,I may be way off base on this judgement. I am still jealous of the creamer as being one object that I covet more than anything else ever seen on the Forum.

Plasticman, good to hear from you. That's correct about the lid being "married". I think I was being too cute when I called it “mate-worthy.” Besides, being a born-again bachelor for many years, I'm just a bit nervous about saying the word "marriage.":)

My lid came from a jug with the arms of Rowe. Its black-bordered gilt spearhead rim with floral spray design on is seen often on other Chinese export armorial and late 18th century Masonic porcelains I’ve run across in my research. The only other piece in the Hanoverian-Masonic pattern is the aforementioned teapot with ill-fitting married cover bought by the DuBose collection in the 1985 Sotheby’s sale of Mottahedeh armorial wares. The matching tea caddy to my jug in the Delaware Dupont-endowed Winterthur Museum also is without lid. Both pieces were formerly in the collection of Dupont exec Charles K. Davis Jr, who donated the caddy to the Winterthur and gave the matching jug to his elder sister Dorothy, at whose 2015 Florida estate liquidation I found and bought it without a clue as to its history. So there's not an original lid on any of the known pieces of the pattern for comparison.


You may yet have a chance to make the jug yours, as I may offer it to Sotheby's one day before I get too feeble to enjoy the results. Stay tuned.

Thanks and best regards,

Bill H.

I've got to slow down and read my submissions twice. The second sentence in my reply above should have read:

"The only other apparent lidded piece in the Hanoverian-Masonic pattern is the aforementioned teapot with ill-fitting married cover bought by the DuBose collection in the 1985 Sotheby’s sale of Mottahedeh armorial wares."

Bill H.

I misspoke again with attribution of the lidded teapot. It's in the British museum, as shown in image 1 below, and the lidless ex-Mottahedeh pot resides in the Beverly M. DuBose III Collection, as shown in image 2 below.

Bill H.

Here are another two of the known Hanoverian-Masonic pattern pieces. First, a punch bowl described by Angela Howard as:

12¼” (31cm dia). Illustrated CAP 1, p.499 from the Bullivant Collection. This mentions also the Winterthur tea canister and the tea bowl at the Freemasonry Museum. This bowl was sold in the Bullivant Collection sale at Phillips, London, March 1988, Lot 231. Photos to follow. My sale catalogue records that it was bought for £2,600 by Cohen & Pearce of London. [C&P later became Cohen & Cohen and have recently, just this year, sold most of their remaining stock at Bonhams New York in January, and I believe are retiring]. (BH NOTE: The picture has some distortion from being photocopied.)

The second is a cup in the Museum of the Royal London Grand Lodge of Freemasonry, described on the websites as:

Dimensions (mm): H: 43 W: n/a D: n/a Dia: 76 Wt: n/a

Description: Chinese export teacup of the Qianlong period, painted in colour on the outside with the coat of arms of the Royal family (Hanover period) and masonic emblems and, on the other side, the Royal family crest and a floral motif; painted on the inside base with masonic emblems and a gold spearhead pattern around the inside rim.

These are the only other known items that've been identified so far, including my jug and its matching tea caddy in the Delaware Winterthur Museum, although I am still looking for others in my spare time.

Cheers,

Bill H.

Late-breaking news!

Just verified a 7th known example of the pattern, contained in the sold item archive of McPherson Antiques, formerly of London and now relocated to The Hague, capital of the Netherlands. The identification is based on the McPherson cup having the pattern seen in the majority of other known George III pieces. However, the sole other small bowl in the Royal London Grand lodge of Freemasonry Museum collection (shown previously above) has a markedly different version of the Hanoverian arms.

Its online description is as follows:

QIANLONG 1736 – 1795 Chinese Export Porcelain
A Rare Chinese Export Porcelain Armorial Teabowl with the Royal Arms of England with Masonic Emblems c.1770 – 1780. Finely Painted with the Royal
Arms of George III, Below this Masonic Emblems Within a Gilt Rococo Cartouche, a Further Masonic Devise to the Well of the Bowl and Flowers to the
Reverse.

Condition: Poor, four fine clean cracks c.30mm, several flake type chips to the outer
edge of the bowl.

Size: Diameter : 10.8 cm (4 1/4 inches)

Provenance: The Clifford Henderson Collection of Chinese Armorial Porcelain.

Stock number: 22485
References: For a Chinese Export Porcelain punch bowl of this pattern see : The Bullivant Collection of Armorial Porcelain, Phillips London, 22nd March
1988, lot 231. For a damaged teapot with this armorial design see : China for the West, Chinese Porcelain & other Decorative Arts for Export
Illustrated from the Mottahedeh Collection (David S. Howard and John Ayers, Sotheby`s,1978) Volume 1, page 324, plate 319. For a teapot of this pattern with a replacement handle see : Ancient Chinese Trade Ceramics from The British Museum (Regina Krahl and Jessica Harrison-Hall, National Museum of History, Republic of China,1994. ISBN 957-00-3623-
0) pages 240, plate 106.

The references indicate that the National History Museum in Taiwan may have another piece in this pattern, but I've been unable to any info or photos from the publication.

Best regards.

Bill H.

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