A GROUP OF CHINESE EXPORT IMARI WARES EARLY 18TH CENTURY

comprising: a teapot and cover, a milk jug and a cover painted with floral sprays; a mug with a landscape; a square stand with flowering branches; a large plate with floral sprays; three dinner plates with bamboo and pierced rockwork; a pair of dinner plates with flowers and pierced rockwork; and a dinner plate with a floral device between crossed plumes.  Some small chips, fritting and restoration. 13 pieces.

The dinner plate is painted with a crest, possibly that of John Maurice Count of Nassaue-Siegen, born in 1604, Governor of the Netherlands Brazil in 1636.  Besides being a famous Dutch military leader he also patronised the sciences, especially botanical research, during his tenure as governor of Brazil.

For further information on his life, see Pieter Geyl, The Netherlands Divided, 1609-1648, trans. 1936.; Pieter Geyl, Orange and Stuart, 1936, trans. 1969.; and Nina Brown Baker, William the Silent, 1947.