An Extremely Rare and Important Chinese Export Imari 'Royal Arms of France' Tripartite Spice Box and Cover, Qing Dynasty, Qianlong Period, circa 1739-40

Christie's Monaco, June 29, 1989, lot 77 (cover lot)

Ralph M. Chait Galleries, New York

Wolf Family Collection No. 0979 (acquired from the above on June 29, 1989)

Stéphane Castelluccio, 'Le service de porcelain de Chine aux armes de Louis XV', L'Estampille/L'Objet d'Art, no. 467, April 2011, p. 70.

The present example is part of one of the most well-known and celebrated armorial commissions for the French market. Decorated with the royal arms of Louis XV, King of France, the arms are first encircled by the collar of the Order of St. Michael (Ordre de Saint-Michel), and further encircled by the collar of the Order of the Holy Spirit (Ordre du Saint-Esprit). Until the abolishment of both orders in 1830 following the July Revolution, the Order of the Holy Spirit remained the senior chivalric order of France, while the Order of St. Michael remained the oldest. 

The service is remarkable for its inclusion of a multitude of forms not seen in other armorial services, and the present example being one of the rarest forms. Apparently copying an earlier French porcelain prototypes, an example made at the Saint-Cloud factory circa 1710-30 is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, gift of R. Thornton Wilson, in memory of Florence Ellsworth Wilson, 1950, acc. no. 50.211.134a,b. Aside from the present lot, two other examples appear to be known. One example, formerly in the collection of Benjamin F. Edwards III, sold at Christie's New York, January 26, 2010, lot 20. Another example was first sold at Christie's London, November 6, 1995, lot 7, and entered the collection of Louis F. and Henry S. McNeil, sold again Christie's New York, October 14, 1999, lot 114. This example entered the RA collection illustrated in Maria Antónia Pinto de Matos, The RA Collection of Chinese Ceramics: A Collector's Vision, Vol. III, London, 2011, cat. no. 508, pp 234-235. Other unusual forms bearing the same arms include three small covered tureens, currently in the collection of the Palace of Versailles, acc. nos V.2019.3, V.2019.4 and V.2019.5.

The dating of this exceptional group of porcelains have long been discussed by scholars. Armorial porcelains in the Imari palette are most commonly dated between 1705-1728, extending from the latter part of the Kangxi period into the first five years of the Yongzheng period, as noted by the David Howard who documented other arms services decorated in Imari palette and dateable to the period. Examples of this service were, in the past, attributed to have been produced in the Kangxi period. A saucer dish formerly in the Hodroff collection, is illustrated in David S. Howard, The Choice of the Private Trader, London, 1994, cat. no. 21. Howard describes the date of this example as circa 1718. A fluted jug and cover, currently in the Grandidier Collection at the Guimet Museum, Paris, coll. no. G5010(+), is dated Kangxi period (1662-1722) and illustrated in From Beijing to Versailles: Artistic Relations between China and France, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1997, cat. no. 77. Other examples published in the early 21st century, however, suggest scholars are moving towards a slightly later dating. A circular tureen and cover, currently in the Leo and Doris Hodroff Collection at the Winterthur Museum, is illustrated in Ronald W. Fuchs II, Made in China, Winterthur, 2005, cat. no. 53, and is dated 1725-30. A fluted basin and an aforementioned spice box, currently in the RA collection, is illustrated in Maria Antónia Pinto de Matos, The RA Collection of Chinese Ceramics: A Collector's Vision, Vol. III, London, 2011, cat. no. 507-508, and are dated 1720-25.

French art historian and royal residences scholar Stéphane Castelluccio, has provided further answers to the dating of these porcelains, and discusses this in detail in Stéphane Castelluccio, 'Le service de porcelaine de Chine aux armes de Louis XV', L'Estampille/L'Objet d'Art, no. 467, pp. 66-72, April 2011. He establishes that in 1733, Louis XV ordered twelve bidets bearing the arms of the King through the French East India Company, which would have arrived at Versailles between 1735 and 1737. Castelluccio further suggests that this particular order of bidets, intended for various residences, served as a trial for the King and Louis XV appreciated the group and later ordered a table service. 

On June 2nd, 1738, the directors of the French East India company ordered the Board of Directors of Canton:

'de faire exécuter aux armes du Roy diverses pièces de porcelain , suivant le mémoire qui luy en a été remis'

[to have various pieces of porcelain executed with the arms of the King, according to the memorandum which was given to him]

In the subsequent years, likely due to delays in production, as well as a measure to mitigate risk for total loss in the event of a shipwreck, the service was split up into two groups and likely boarded the French vessels Condé and Duc de Chartres in 1740.

This shift in dating is especially significant, as previously scholars theorized that the royal service was ordered by Philippe II, duc d’Orléans, during his time as Regent of France from 1715 to 1723. If the service was indeed produced around 1718 as many scholars previously believed, this would be plausible as in 1718 Louis XV would have only been 10 years old. This is further supported by the similarities in palette and design between the royal examples and the examples made for Philippe II. However, given Castelluccio's findings, it is now clear that the King ordered this service himself, according to his taste at the time during his early adulthood.