VASER med LOCK, ett par, porslin. Transition, 1600-tal.

Halls Fine Arts Auction, February, 2008. From the Collection of Baroness Burdett-Coutts and thence by descent.

Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts (1814-1906) was the granddaughter of Thomas Coutts and on the death of her step grandmother she inherited a significant fortune. However due to nineteenth century convention she was forbidden from involvement in Coutts Bank and as a result channelled her energies into philanthropy – spending the majority of her wealth on scholarships and endowments. In 1871, in recognition of her work, Queen Victoria conferred on her a “ sue jure “ peerage as Baroness Coutts of Highgate and Brookfield.

The Avalon Collection Part II.

This collection, which in the main focuses on the Interregnum and Kangxi periods has been both carefully and sensitively formed over the last twenty-five years. The collector, a member of the English Oriental Ceramic Society, has assembled the collection with an eye for provenance whilst purchasing from old European collections, well-established antique dealers and at auction.

Academically, the pieces have been well researched both in terms of their symbolism and narrative themes. In many instances the imagery on the pieces has been referenced to episodes in the romantic and historic novels of Chinese mythology, which were used extensively in the decoration of seventeenth century Chinese porcelain.

A bowl with a similar decoration is illustrated in “Rare Marks in Chinese Ceramics: A joint exhibition from the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art and the Victoria and Albert Museum”, by Ming Wilson, Page 152, Item 66.