CHINA, circa 1725-1749 - Lot 95

CHINA, circa 1725-1749 A pair of famille rose porcelain tureens with gold and silver highlights, bearing the arms, supported by two greyhounds and surmounted by a knight's helmet, of Charles de La Bistrate, of Antwerp in Brabant, flanked by those of Anne-Martine Proli, of Antwerp and Milan. The rim of the lid is embellished with an interlacing motif reproducing the coat of arms, and the two side handles are in the form of shells. Restoration to one handle, cracks to the glaze inside the same tureen, slight wear. 19th-century gilt bronze mounts. Total height 26.3 cm D. lids 24 cm The arms on this pair of tureens belong to Jean-Charles de la Bistrate (baptized in Antwerp in 1715), lord of Loer and Neerwinde and chief chaplain of Antwerp, and to his wife, Anne-Martine Proli (1711-1789), whom he married married on October 7, 1736. Anne-Martine Proli's father was one of the seven directors of the Ostend company. A bowl bearing the same arms is illustrated in Maertens de Noordhout (Henry), Porcelaines chinoises decorated with Belgian coats of arms. La "Compagnie d'Ostende", ses antécédents et ses prolongements. Chez l'Auteur, 1997, p. 66-67. Two other bowls are in the Rijksmuseum, AK-NM-13423 and AK-NM-4095. For a discussion of the various La Bistrate and Proli services, see David Sanctuary Howard, Chinese Armorial Porcelain, Faber and Faber, 1974, pp. 40-41. Condition report: One shell shape handle restored and some crackles to the glaze inside the same tureen; slight wear.