Page 101 - Bonhams Asian Art May 15-16 2023

276
A RARE FAMILLE ROSE ‘LIBERTY’
PUNCH BOWL
Qianlong
Enamelled on each side with a cartouche
portrait of John Wilkes below the inscription
ARMS OF LIBERTY, beside a portrait of Lord
Mansfield, each portrait flanked by supporting
figures and mottos.
26cm (10 1/4in) diam.
£800 - 1,200
HK$7,800 - 12,000
CNY6,800 - 10,000
For an identical bowl see D. S. Howard,
Chinese Armorial Porcelain, 1974, p. 955
where the author points out that these bowls,
together with the similar, more commonly-
found bowls inscribed ‘Wilkes and Liberty’,
are more political than heraldic. John Wilkes
(1725-1797) was a popular campaigner for
liberty and was elected to Parliament on
several occasions, as well as elected Mayor of
London in 1774. Lord Mansfield, representing
‘The Establishment’, was Lord Chief Justice
from 1756-1788.
277
A RARE FAMILLE ROSE DUTCH
ARMORIAL ‘VOC’ TEAPOT, COVER AND 276
STAND
Dated by inscription to 1728
The pear-shaped teapot finely enamelled
on either side with the arms of the Dutch
Republic flanked by crowned lions and the
‘VOC’ monogram beneath, decorated in
red, pink, green, yellow and black enamels,
applied with a C-shaped handle and straight
spout, beneath the mouth rim with the
inscription ‘CRESCUNT.1728.CONCORDIA’,
the domed cover similarly decorated with two
‘VOC’ monograms, surmounted by a lotus-
bud finial, the flat stand with rising sides and
foliate rim, similarly decorated with the arms
of the States General of the Dutch Republic
above the VOC monogram, surrounded by
the inscription ‘CONCORDIA RES PARVAE
CRESCUNT 1728’. The teapot: 14.5cm (5
3/4in) long; the stand: 13.5cm (5 1/3in) wide
(3).

£1,500 - 2,000
HK$15,000 - 19,000
CNY13,000 - 17,000
The Property of a Lady

Provenance
a Western private collection, and thence by
descent

The arms and motto on the present lot belong
to the Dutch Republic. The letters ‘VOC’ are 277
the cypher of the ‘Verenigde Oost Indische
Compagnie’, the Dutch East India Company.
The design has been accurately copied
from one side of a silver coin, issued by the
Company in 1728 for use in the Far East.
Even the ribbed milling of the coin is imitated
in the rim of the saucer and the mouth rim of
the teapot and cover.

For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue. ASIAN ART - PART I | 99