soup-plate BM-Franks.831.+

Period:Qing dynasty Production date:1743-1747 (circa)
Materials:porcelain, gold,
Technique:glazed, gilded, painted,
Subjects:symbol boat/ship heraldry landscape
Dimensions:Diameter: 22.90 centimetres

Description:
‘Famille rose’ soup plate with an English coat of arms of Anson, “Argent three bends engrailed gules,” quartering Carrier of Wirksworth, “Sable a bend between three spearheads argent”; crest, “A griffin’s head erased. The plate shows in the centre a bread – fruit tree draped with a floral garland; to the right are a colourful bird, two dogs, bagpipes, a bonnet, a pair of crossed crooks, and in the distance a flock of sheep; to the left a palm tree, a brazier with two flaming hearts, a pair of loving doves, a bow and a quiver. The rim is painted with waterscapes in long panels, one showing a pagoda, junks and ‘sampans’ between a tower and a ruin, the other ships flying the British flag between a lighthouse and another ruin; at the top is a griffin crest and at the bottom a coat of arms surrounded by colourful Rococo ornament and floral garlands. On the base of the plate is a ship’s anchor entwined with a cable.
IMG


Comments:See also BM Franks.763+, BM Franks.765+, BM Franks.833+ and BM Franks.824+. Harrison-Hall and Krahl 1994:The combination of pastoral, erotic and exotic emblems in the centre is known as ‘Valentine Pattern’. The symbols to the right of the bread-fruit tree are also known as the ‘Absent Master’, those to the left as the ‘Altar of Love’ (see also BM Franks.833+ and BM Franks. 765+). The waterscapes have been interpreted as harbour views of the Pearl River at Canton (right) and Plymouth Sound in Devon, England (left; Howard, 1974, p. 46). This service was made for Commodore, later Admiral, Lord Anson (1697-1792) of Shugborough in Staffordshire and bears his crest and arms (ibid., p. 323). The bread-fruit and palm trees have been copied from drawings by Peircy Brett, Anson’s draughtsman who accompanied him on his circumnavigation of the world on H.M.S. Centurion. An engraving by Brett, showing the ‘Watering Place at Tenian’ was included in Lord Anson’s Voyage around the World, published in 1748 (pl. XXXIV, see fig. 100a; courtesy of the British Library). This service can be dated quite precisely, since Anson went to Canton in 1743, and his coat of arms was altered in 1747, acquiring a coronet and supporters, when he was created Baron. The rest of this large service is in The National Trust, Shugborough, Staffordshire, Anson’s ancestral home (Howard, 1974, p. 323).