Canton Chinese Export Circa 1800 Partial Dinner Set Help to ID Family Crest

The story I was told about this Canton China Chinese Export Porcelain Partial Dinner Service set is that it was purchased on Cape Cod as the ships were being unloaded with exports many years ago. The set was dated by Sotheby's as being Circa 1800. I was hoping someone could help to identify the family crest? I read that there is a book that helps to identify these crests. I can not remember the name of it. I doubt that my library will have it. Any help is appreciated.

 

Nice set! Something along the lines of mine, although I only have coffee cans and saucer-dishes, no tea bowls. The crests on mine were just monograms and had no enamel, just gilt so they either wore off of a PO might have removed them.

 

I have Fairbairn's book Crests of the Families of Great Britain and Ireland. I don't know that it's the best but it's the only one I have. In Elinor Gordon's book, Chinese Export Porcelain, she recommends a few books though I've never seen them and don't know if they are helpful. I'll include a shot of what she says.

Chinese Export isn't something I know a great deal about and own a limited number. I'm not entirely sure that an armorial looking detail is necessarily an actual family as I find it sometimes referred to as "pseudo" armorial. Yours makes me wonder a bit as the floral looks rather like some used just as decoration. Anyway, I can't offer much help but here's a bit.

1. Below, "sample" plates that show options when ordering your preferred porcelain, from the Victoria and Albert Museum.

2. From Winterthur Museum, a platter that has the armorials on each end with a floral decoration in the center that looks a good deal like your floral.

3. A few examples of the types of plates from Fairbairn's Crests book. I didn't see any that matched your floral exactly but I'm showing a few florals along with how many different names can be associated with each of them.

4. I added a piece I own with floral decoration on . You'll note the similar floral to yours. I don't know that it means yours isn't a true family crest, just makes me wonder.

5. Gordon's book recommendations.

1. Victoria and Albert, sample plates for ordering

https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O180998/plate-unknown/


https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O437100/plate-unknown/



2. Winterthur Museum, platter with armorials on either end floral decor in center

http://museumcollection.winterthur....n=100&src=results-imagelink-only#.YETk_GhKhKA





3. Fairbairn's Crest examples






4. My coffee can with similar floral




5. Gordon's book recommendations

 

Those "sample plates" are really quite fascinating!

 

I think the pattern options plates are great too and amazing that they have survived!

 

Thank you say_it_slowly for that very informative information. It does now look to me as though a floral design was added to a similar design as is in your "1. Victoria and Albert" example. It was back in 2013 that I sent a group of images of this set to Sotheby's to date and get an auction estimate. They did date it to Circa 1800 but said that they would not be able to offer it because it did not meet their minimum of $5,000. They gave me an estimate of between $2,000-$3,000. Oh well. It has always been on my bucket list to have something worthy of a high end auction like Sotheby's. I guess I better keep looking!

 

Hopefully someone will know more that might help. I don't know the answer, I was just thinking out loud (so to speak).

Here are a couple more of mine that used a similar device.

 

say_it_slowly, I meant to also say I liked all of your images you shared. I like your coffee can very much. Can you tell me, is your avatar Belleek? I have a Belleek piece that has similar feet. After uploading the images I see now they are not so similar.

 

Actually my avatar is a little Staffordshire white stoneware jug with applied dyed sprigs and traces of gilt from the mid 18th C. It's a sassy little thing just over 3" high.

Like so many of my things it has some damage but I do love it.

 

Very nice! Thank you for showing a closeup. I guess the only thing it has in common with mine is it's three feet.

 

Belleek is nice, feels lovely in the hand. Second black mark?

I dragged a Belleek kettle home from a thrift. It is missing the shell on the top and a big chunk from the spout but I can't bring myself to toss it out.

(It has three feet too)