A Rare Chinese Export Famille-Rose 'Beggars Bennison' Punch Bowl Qing Dynasty, Qianlong Period, Circa 1770 | 清乾隆 約1770年 粉彩紋章圖大盌

The present example, along with the following lot, represents the two distinct types of Chinese porcelain commissioned for The Beggar's Bennison, a secret Scottish society founded in the town of Anstruther in Fife, Scotland in 1732. Described as a gentleman's club, members of the Beggar's Bennison were forerunners of libertine culture in Enlightenment Scotland in the 18th century which included customs officers, aristocracy and clergymen. The club was active between 1732 until 1836, with the height of its activity during the 18th century. According to David Howard, the members convened 'twice a year in a ruined castle and discussed in a serious fashion matters of sexual interest'. Historian David Stevenson, Professor Emeritus of Scottish History at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, describes the clubs activities in his work The Beggar's Benison: Sex Clubs of Enlightenment Scotland and Their Rituals, East Lothian, 2001. Stevenson notes that the members engaged in various forms of self and collective sexual pleasures, reviewing and discussing pornography and overall exploring topics of sexuality, all against the societal conventions and expectations of morality of the 18th century. 

Much of the club's records were destroyed and heavily censored due to the contents, however a selection of objects and archival material remain in the Museum Collections at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. These works include phallic-form drinking glasses, seal matrices, sashes and pewter dish. Among the objects are a seal matrix, acc. no. HC1065(1), and a metal seal matrix impression, acc. no. HK1065(2), which closely resembles the device painted on the present example. While it is known that seal fobs and seal impressions were sent to China for Chinese painters and potters to copy for Chinese export porcelains, it is more likely that a specific hand-colored source print, which may have been destroyed, was sent instead given the specificity of coloring of the enamels used across the known examples bearing the device of The Beggar's Bennison.