Armorial pottery and porcelain has been produced since the early 18th century when
the aristocracy procured large, elaborate services from Jingdezhen in the Mountains north of China. Famous for its Blue and White wares, it also produced some of the most incredible Armorial Porcelain services you will find.
Armorial porcelain has long been regarded as some of the rarest and most sort after Antique porcelain in the world. With highly elaborate services being produced in Jingdezhen which has been affectionately dubbed - "THE PORCELAIN CAPITAL OF CHINA". As a general rule Armorial porcelain was only sourced by the Aristocracy of Europe and England, with services ranging from between 30 to 300 pieces.
How was it produced?
An aristocratic family would send a design of the family coat of arms to the porcelain artisans in China where it would take from 1 to 3 years from when the original order was placed, till the final service was delivered. The primary port for shipping was Canton but this is not to be confused with Canton porcelain, the gorgeously decorated polychrome items.
A problem you sometimes find with Armorial porcelain is that the Chinese artist's sometimes unintentionally miss-spelt or misrepresented the design of an amoral device. This was because the artists took a literal meaning to the way in which the armorial device was to be displayed. For example, the design may say the orb is to be placed in the right talon, which actually meant the left talon as the person viewed the picture. The Chinese sometimes took this to mean the right talon as they viewed the picture. I have a piece of Chinese Armorial porcelain with the Coat of Arms of Catherine II or Catherine the great who reigned as part of the Romanov Dynasty in the 18th century. The Orb and Scepter have been transposed, a typical example of what I have just mentioned.
Armorial porcelain is fantastic to collect and incredibly fine examples of the very best mix of Chinese skill and aristocratic exuberance.