Chinese Export Porcelain Early Armorial Plates, Arms of Van Gellicum, Kangxi

The Imari armorial plates were made for the Dutch family, Van Gellicum. An armorial in the centre and on the sides a floral scroll border, the rim with rocks, flowers, leaves and zig-zag lines. The zig-zag lines represent a thunderbolt, seen on Delft faience of the first quarter of the 18th century and based on Japanese patterns.

Dimensions: 8 3/4 inches diameter x 3/4 inches high.

This coat of arms, a Chevron between three eagles and a bezant, in chief an unidentified charge; the crest is a heron-like bird with an eel (or snake) in its beak between two wings, was borne by the Van Gellicum family.

Harmen van Gellicom, a native from Gorinchem The Netherlands, who was kwartiermeester (quarter-master or leading seaman), on four East Indiaman sailing on behalf of the Dutch East India Company, (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC), Chamber of Zeeland to Batavia between the years 1728 and 1736.

The date of this porcelain correlates with his time in the Indies.

Reference: See similar at – Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Object number AK-NM-13413

Sotheby’s, New York, Jan. 23 2015, The collection of Roy and Ruth Nutt, Lot 107.

Chinese Armorial Porcelain for the Dutch market: Chinese porcelain with coats of arms of Dutch families, Jochem Kroes. See page: 718.

Chinese ceramics in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam: the Ming and Qing dynasties, Christiaan J.A. Jörg; in collab. with Jan van Campen. Page 352.