Pair of large Chinese armorial porcelain monteiths with the arms of Pinto Pereira

Date	1735
Period	1600-1750, 18th century
Origin	China
Medium	porcelain
Dimensions	30 cm (11³/₄ inches)
Gallery	Cohen & Cohen

Description
Technical

Yongzheng period
Portuguese Market

A very fine pair of Chinese export porcelain armorial monteiths with a Portuguese coat of arms, the body with extensive anhua incised decoration of lotus and other flowers.
The quartered arms are: Periera, Pinto, Guedes and Pimentel. Pereira: the cross in the Pereira arms commemorates Saint Nuno Álvares Pereira (1360-1431).
The arms are for Cosme Damião Pinto Pereira, Fidalgo of the Royal Household, Lord of the Quinta do Vale dos Moinhos and Quinta das Conchas in Lumiar, Lisbon. He was Captain-General and Governor of Macao for two periods, 1733-1735 and 1743-1747.
He ordered several services, all of which appear to have this anhua incised decoration but some later ones have additional famille rose sprays of flowers. These monteiths are from the earliest service.

Date: 1735
Period: 1600-1750, 18th century
Origin: China
Medium: porcelain
Dimensions: 30 cm (11³/₄ inches)
Provenance: Collection of Florentina (Cuqui) Fierro Viña in the Plaza de Marqués Salamanca.

Literature: References: Castro 1988, p78-9, details of this service; Ibid p 67, a monteith with the Royal arms of Portugal, the same crenellation but a different body shape; a single example of this shape and size, with the anhua decoration but with famille rose flowers and antiques and without the armorial is in the Royal Collection, Buckingham Palace, London.

Categories: Oriental and Asian Art