QIANLONG PERIOD, CIRCA 1767-1769

Only 45 pieces of this illustrious dinner service are known to be extant, the vast majority of which are to be found in the present lot, making it the largest grouping to come to market. Though armorial services with tureens, platters and plates are not uncommon, it is quite unusual to see the breadth of forms that are presented here: large punch-pots, rocaille-molded wine coolers, baskets and massive punch-bowls.

The service was ordered for Arnoldus Adrianus van Tets (1738-1792) and his second wife Wilhelmina Jacoba Hartingh (1750-1813), likely on the occasion of their marriage in Batavia in 1767, and would have been delivered prior to their return to the Netherlands in 1769. After studying law at Leiden University and becoming a solicitor, van Tets began the long journey to Batavia on the East Indiamen Rhoon in 1756. Within a few days, he was appointed as a junior merchant and over the next 13 years he rose through the ranks of the Dutch East India Company, eventually becoming a Zaken van den Inlander delegate in 1761 and trustee of the Batavian hospitals. For a further discussion of the service and the family’s history, see Dr. Jochem Kroes, Chinese Armorial Porcelain for the Dutch Market, Zwolle, 2007, cat, no. 266, pp. 347-348. Portraits of both Arnoldus Adrianus van Tets and Wilhelmina Jacoba Hartingh dating to 1785 by Abraham van Strij are held at the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, The Hague, object nos. 76223 and 76224.