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A CHINESE EXPORT ROYAL ARMORIAL MILK JUG AND COVER circa 1748
Estimate
4,000 - 6,000 USD
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Description
- height 5 1/8 in.
- 13 cm
painted on the front of the pear-shaped body with the Royal Arms quarterly of Prince James Francis Edward Stuart beneath a gilt foliate-scroll-and-shell border around the rim repeated on the rim of the cover beneath two flowering branches. The cover cracked.
Provenance
Sold, Christie's, New York, January 25, 2000, lot 279
Literature
David Sanctuary Howard, Chinese Armorial Porcelain, Vol. II, p. 247, no. M4, illustrated and the service discussed
Condition
Cover with 1 inch hair crack to rim also with 1/8 inch shallow chip on upper edge, and faint 3/8 inch fracture on upper edge.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
Howard (see Literature above) comments that based on the dating of the decoration, this rare service must have been "painted after a Continental, probably French, original for Prince James Francis Edward Stuart (1688-1760) who for many was King James III." But as a Catholic, he could not succeed his father James II (1633-1701) upon the king's death in 1701, and the throne was held by his two half-sisters, Queen Mary (1662-94) and her successor, Queen Anne (1665-1714). "Prince James Francis Edward (known in England as 'The Old Pretender') attempted to regain the throne in 1715 and again in 1745 when his army was led by his son [Charles Edward Stuart (1720-88)] (known as the Young Pretender' or more popularly 'Bonnie Prince Charlie') [whose defeat at] the Battle of Culloden [in 1746] put an end to his hopes. It would seem inescapable that this service was made either in the expectation of success in the 1745 invasion, or shortly after that when it was known his hopes were not to be fulfilled."