A Rare Chinese Export Painted Enamel Triangular Armorial Dish for the Portuguese Market Qing Dynasty, Qianlong Period, Circa 1765 | 清乾隆 約1765年 銅胎畫琺琅紋章圖三角盤

Collection of Helena Woolworth McCann (1878-1938)
Gift of the Winfield Foundation, 1955

Elaborately decorated and bearing the arms of Dom Gaspar de Saldanha e Albuquerque (c.1719-1771), the design of the present service counts as one of the most iconic and unique dining sets produced in China for the European market. The son of Aires de Saldanha Albuquerque e Castro, the Governor and Captain-General of Rio de Janeiro, Gaspar served the Principal of the Holy Patriarchal Basilica of Lisbon, and the Dean and Reformer of the University of Coimbra from 1757-67. 

A pair of wine coolers is illustrated in A. Varela Santos, Portugal in Porcelain from China: 500 Years of Trade, Vol. II, Lisbon, 2008, cat. no. 5.03, where the author discusses the arms in detail, and speculates that Gaspar had a great interest in hunting in fishing, which gave the inspiration to the service's unique design. A plate is illustrated in Maria Antónia Pinto de Matos, The RA Collection of Chinese Ceramics: A Collector's Vision, Vol. III, London, 2011, cat. no. 498, and the author in this case believes the service to be a eulogy to fine dining. The author further notes that there are no other dinner services with similar decoration known, and is one of the only few services extant with porcelain as well as painted enamel pieces. 

Painted enamel examples from this service rarely come to market. A triangular tray and cover is illustrated in China of All Colors: Painted Enamels on Copper, London, 2015, cat no. 5, where the author notes that triangular dishes are known as chapéus in Portugal and normally placed at the corners of the dining table. 

A selection of examples from this service, is illustrated in John Goldsmith Phillips, China-Trade Porcelain: An Account of Its Historical Background, Manufacture, and Decoration and a Study of the Helena Woolworth McCann Collection, Cambridge, 1956, pls. 6, 37 and 38.