1985.R.852, Charger, porcelain, Jingdezhen, China, c. 1720

This large dish was part of a service made around 1720 for Thomas Pitt (d. 1729). In 1717, Pitt married Lady Francis Ridgeway, daughter of the Earl of Londonderry. Following his father-in-law's death, Pitt himself was made Baron Londonderry, and in 1726 he was advanced to the new Earldom of Londonderry and constituted Captain General of the Leeward Islands in the West Indies. 

The coat of arms are those of Pitt with Ridgeway. The motto is Amité (Friendship). The Pitt set was one of the earliest armorial services ever ordered by Europeans from China. This piece bears on its reverse a ling zhi (sacred fungus) mark, the use of which was forbidden after 1723. At this date, the arms typically cover the entire bottom of a dish, as here. Later, they became smaller in scale. 

Dallas Museum of Art, Decorative Arts Highlights from the Wendy and Emery Reves Collection (Dallas, Texas: Dallas Museum of Art, 1995), 104.

Until 1985: Emery Reves (1904-1983) and Wendy Reves (1916-2007) (owned jointly), La Pausa, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France [1]

From 1985: Dallas Museum of Art, The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection, gift of Wendy Reves (1916-2007) [1]

[1] According to: Olivier Meslay and Martha MacLeod, From Chanel to Reves (Dallas, Texas: Dallas Museum of Art, 2015), 4-5.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art~Read more about Chinese Export Porcelain

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