Tureen, Cover and Stand

Dateca. 1750

MediumHard-paste porcelain

DimensionsOL: 7 ¼ at handle tips (6 1/4" rim) and 7 ½" stand OW: 4 7/16" tureen, 5 1/2" stand

Credit LineGift of Murray F. Nimmo

Object number2013-137,A-C

DescriptionChinese export porcelain sauce tureen, cover, and stand. From the armorial service made for George Martin (Radford, Oxfordshire) and his wife Frances Bidwell (Thetford of Norfolk/Devon- Marten impaling Bidwell). Painted on either side of the chamfered, rectangular tureen and on the lower rim of the stand with the arms of Marten of Radford, Oxfordshire, impaling Bidwell of Thetford in Norfolk. The arms alternate with ‘Valentine’ pattern and amatory panels. The cover is painted on either side with the Marten crest and at either end with a pair of Chinese pheasants amidst pink peonies. The peonies are repeated in the center of the stand. The Marten crest occupies the top of the stand's rim. Gilt rabbit’s-head handles attach to the ends of the tureen and the cover bears an iron-red and gilt floral knop.

Label TextArmorial porcelain is an important part of English history. This sauce tureen with the arms of Marten of Radford, Oxfordshire, impaling Bidwell of Theford, Norfolk, helps tell the story of the China trade and "bespoke porcelain," that is porcelain ordered with one's coat of arms, cypher, or crest.

The small cartouches painted with the "Valentine pattern" provide comparisons to our Chinese export porcelain saucer dish decorated with a similar pattern but possessing a history of ownership and use in America.
ProvenanceMurray F. nimmo

J. Reis Fernandes, Barnes, England, December 19, 1984