A Very Rare Pair of Chinese Export 'Battle of the Saintes' Large Punch Bowls, Qing Dynasty, Qianlong Period, Circa 1784 | 清乾隆 約1784年 墨彩描金桑特海峽戰役圖大盌一對

The 'Battle of the Saintes' was a naval engagement of the American Revolutionary war which took place off the island of Guadeloupe and a group of smaller dependent islands (Les Isles des Saintes) in the West Indes. The British fleet, led by Admiral Rodney 'broke the line' of the French, led by Admiral de Grasse, on 12th April, 1782 on the fourth day of battle. The grisaille panorama on the present bowls is taken from an engraving of 1783 by Francis Chesham and John Peltro, who in turn took their design from an oil painting by Robert Dodd. 

The bowls are from a small group, of which perhaps ten are extant, all with the same battle scene and borders, but interestingly with a variety of images on the reverse. The present bowl is one of only two recorded with the inscription commemorating the exact date of the battle, the other is in the collection of the National Trust at Berrington Hall in Herefordshire, England (the former home of Admiral Rodney's daughter-in-law, Anne Harley). Three other bowls, however, bear the inscription 'The Gift of A Commander of an Indiaman a small by grateful Testimony of Respect to Lord Rodneys Merit and Services' within an identical ribbon and husk cartouche. An bowl with this inscription sold at Sotheby's London, October 27, 1970, lot 34 and is illustrated in Geoffrey Godden, Oriental Export Market Porcelain, London, 1979, p. 87, fig. 12; and a pair, apparently identical but unillustrated, was sold at Christie's London, November 4, 1991, lot 148. The satirical scene of the Englishman and Frenchman depicted on the reverse of the other bowl included in this lot is taken from an engraving by James Gillray of circa 1779, entitled 'Politeness'. This scene appears on at least two other bowls, including the example in the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, illustrated and discussed by William R. Sargent, Treasures of Chinese Export Ceramics from the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, 2012, pp. 328-9, no. 175. Several bowls are also known with an extensive Italianate landscape depicted in grisaille on the reverse, one of which is in the RA Collection, illustrated in Maria Antónia Pinto de Matos, The RA Collection of Chinese Ceramics, Vol. 2, London 2011, pp. 220-1, no. 315.

The original commission of the bowls is unknown, however it would appear they were commissioned by, or intended for, Lord Rodney and other commanders of the British fleet, given the gift inscription noted above which is present on some examples. An example owned by Lord Rodney, without the inscription but bearing the satirical scene on the reverse, is now in the National Maritime Museum Greenwich, ID: AAA4358; and another, also at Greenwich, bears the arms of Sir Charles Douglas, Bt., Rodney's Captain of the Fleet at the Saintes, ID: AAA4357. This latter bowl having a more elaborate and colorful border on the interior rim, perhaps a consequence of adding the arms in a fuller enamel palette.  Sargent, ibid, p. 328, notes that one of the British ships depicted in the battle scene may be identified as the St. Albans, whose Captain, Charles Inglis, led the skirmish with de Grasse, and whose brother, Hugh, was a director of the East India Company during this period, perhaps indicating a link to the commission of these bowls.