A Chinese armorial tea caddy for the Dutch market (De Witt / van den Bergh). Yongzheng

The tea caddy is decorated in rich enamels with a finely rendered Chinese mountain-and-water landscape, showing pavilions, trees, and rocky peaks in delicate brushwork and vivid colors. At the center of the main side appears a circular armorial roundel, more boldly painted than the surrounding scene. Within, on a greyish-black (oxidized silver) ground, are three running golden greyhounds placed between a pair of outspread wings, all in gilt. Surrounding the shield is mantling of curling leaves in European style, executed in thick enamels of red, green, blue, and touches of yellow.

COUNTRY : China
PERIOD : Yongzheng (1723-1735)
MATERIAL : Porcelain
REFERENCE : E404
STATUT : sold
Informations request
Related works :

Two dishes are in French museum collections, one in the Musée du Louvre, from the collection of the baronne Adèle de Rothschild, (1843-1922), the second in the collection of the Musée Adrien Dubouché, Limoges.

For a very closed tea caddy with the coat of arms of Bollaert, see Rijkmuseum, inv.no.AK-NM-13501.

For the De Witt / Van den Bergh and Bollaert pieces, see Dr. Jochem Kroes, Chinese Armorial Porcelain for the Dutch market, 2007, p. 138-140.

Additonal informations :

This tea service was most likely commissioned by a member of the De Witt family, or possibly the van den Bergh family, both established in Haarlem. The De Witt were traditionally associated with the military, with several members serving as high-ranking officers in the Dutch army during the 18th century. A plausible candidate is Jacob Eduard de Witt (1708–1790), Major-General of the Crevecoeur Fort near ’s-Hertogenbosch.

Within the Van den Bergh family, two possibilities are Abraham (d. between 1736 and 1740), or his son Hendrik (1691–1736), who resided in Haarlem. Another possible connection is Captain Hendrik van den Berg, a native of Amsterdam, who commanded four VOC East Indiamen on voyages to the Indies between 1726 and 1733, although it remains uncertain whether he was related to the Haarlem branch.

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