A Chinese porcelain writing-brush jar, made between 1630 and 1650, and painted in underglaze blue with a vase of flowers, an antique ding (a cauldron with legs, a lid and two facing handles, used for the preparation of ritual offerings to ancestors) and an incense burner in a landscape setting. It was mounted in England between 1660 and 1670 with extravagant silver-gilt mounts probably made by the Swiss goldsmith Wolfgang Howzer (died 1688). The addition of the mounts has transformed the brush jar into a luxurious, decorative two-handled cup and cover. The bold scrolling handles support greyhounds, while the decoration of the cover cleverly mimics that on the porcelain. At the top of the cover, another hound is seated on top of a grassy mound.
By the mid-17th century, when this brush jar came to England, blue and white Chinese porcelain was widely available in noble and wealthy households, and was no longer considered rare or curious. Porcelains of the finest quality, however, continued to be set in decorative mounts.
The greyhounds and seated hound on the mounts are heraldic, and refer to the crest of the person who must have commissioned this highly unique and very personalised setting. The goldsmith, working with great skill to create the elaborate decoration on the cover, has created a masterpiece worthy of any princely collection.
Physical description
Porcelain brush pot mounted with silver-gilt handles, foot and rim mounts and a lid.
[Cup] Early Kangxi cylindrical vase mounted in silver gilt. The body of the vase is painted with flowers in underglaze of blue. The two cast handles on either side are scrolling acanthus surmounted by a coursing hound. The vase rests on a silver-gilt spreading foot chased with curved acanthus leaves.
[cover (closure)] The cover is chased with meadow grass and a rustic seat. The finial is in the form of a dog seated on a mound of grass which rises from the meadow.
Place of Origin
Jiangxi, China (Jiangxi porcelain brush pot, Transitional period, 1630-1650, made)
London, England (Silver-gilt mounts and lid, ca. 1665.)
Date
1630-1650 (made)
1660-1670 (made)
Artist/maker
Howzer, Wolfgang (probably, goldsmith)
Materials and Techniques
Hard-paste porcelain cup, with silver-gilt mounts and cover
Marks and inscriptions
On the rim of the vase mount, mark 'WH' above a cherub in a shaped punch, maker's mark, probably Wolfgang Howzer (or Husar) (active 1652-1688).
[Cup] 'WH' above a cherub
Dimensions
Height: 33 cm, Width: 33 cm including handles, Diameter: 16.9 cm base, Weight: 286 g Mounted pot and lid
Object history note
Brush pot made in China; mounts probably made by Wolfgang Howzer (born in Zurich, active 1652-1688). Nothing is known about the original owner of the brush pot, or the circumstances surrounding the commission of the mounts in London. It has been suggested (Glanville: 1984) that the greyhounds on the handles and the lid finial are a heraldic device, deliberately chosen to identify the European owner or (if the mounted pot was a gift) the recipient. In the eighteenth century, the mounted pot was at Stowe, in the possession of the Dukes of Buckingham (Glanville: 1996), for whom the greyhounds had no heraldic significance as the key animal in the ducal crest is the martlett (information kindly supplied by Anna McEvoy, Stowe House Preservation Trust). The mounted pot was among the many possessions sold to settle the second Duke of Buckingham's debts in 1848. Described in the sale catalogue as 'a beautiful cup of old blue and white - mounted in silvergilt in fine old taste', it fetched 24.10. It was sold to a Mr Mark Philips of Snitterfield (Tomlinson: 1990, pp. 17-19). In the twentieth century, the mounted pot was acquired by the collector and connoisseur Claude Rotch, and it was among a number of pieces he bequeathed to the Museum on his death in 1961 (Oman: 1963).
Descriptive line
Chinese porcelain pot (1630-1650) with English silver-gilt cover and mounts (ca. 1665)
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Forster, Henry Rumsey. The Stowe catalogue, priced and annotated. London: David Bogue, Fleet Street, 1848. [sale date: 15 August, 1848; 7 October 1848]
Oman, Charles. Caroline Silver 1625-1688. London: Faber and Faber, 1970
For Wolfgang Howzer, see pp. 33-34; black and white photos of the cup and lid appear as plate 75.
Glanville, Philippa. Chinese porcelain and English goldsmiths c. 1560-c.1660. The V&A Album. 1984, vol. 3. pp. 246-256.
See p. 255 and figs 11 and 12.
Glanville, Philippa, ed. Silver. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1996. ISBN 1851771727
See p. 115-6 for black and white image and note on how it was displayed at Stowe in 1730.
Tomlinson, Melanie. A cup and cover. Unpublished RCA/V&A M.A. Dissertation, January 1990
Brooke, Humphrey, ed. The age of Charles II: Royal Academy of Arts Winter Exhibition 1960-1. London: The Royal Academy of Arts, 1960. [Catalogue of an exhibition held at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, Dec. 10, 1960 - Feb. 26, 1961].
There is no image in the catalogue, though a photograph of the cup appears in the 'Illustrated Souvenir' which was also published for the exhibition.
http://www.stowe.co.uk/house/lost-treasures-of-stowe/
Project run with the support of the World Monuments Fund Britain to establish whereabouts of objects dispersed in the 1848 and 1920 sales of Stowe possessions.
Crighton, R. A. Cambridge Plate: an exhibition of silver, silver-gilt and gold plate arranged as a part of the Cambridge Festival 1975, drawn from the holdings by the City of Cambridge, the University of Cambridge, the colleges, the National Trust (Anglesey Abbey) and the Cambridge Beefsteak Club. Cambridge: Fitzwilliam Museum, 1975.
See p. 21 for a black and white photo of a cup with handles in the form of greyhounds; identification of date and mark revised in Wilson (1999).
Wilson, Gillian. Mounted oriental porcelain in the J. Paul Getty Museum. Revised edition. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 1999. ISBN: 0892365625
See pp. 22-25 for two Japanese porcelain bowls mounted with metal-gilt mounts in the form of greyhounds.
Kerr, Rose and Luisa E. Mengoni. Chinese Export Ceramics. London: V&A Publishing, 2011. ISBN 9781851776320
See chapter 5, 'Porcelain with mounts and porcelain decorated in Europe'.
Packer, Emma. 'Howzer, Wolfgang'. Biographical entry in Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. Accessed 22 Feb. 2013. Oman, Charles. Silver from the Rotch Bequest. Apollo. Vol. 77, February 1963. pp. 91 - 95.
See fig. 1 and p. 93.
Exhibition History
The Age of Charles II (Royal Academy of Arts 1960-1961)
Labels and date
This Chinese brush jar was probably fitted with mounts as an ornament, either for a 'cabinet of curiosities' or a reception room, hence its excellent condition. The practice of mounting porcelain declined in the early 17th century as it became less of a rarity, but exceptional objects were still singled out to receive silver or ormolu mounts; on this piece the goldsmith has copies on the cover certain motifs painted on the vase. [1990-2000]
This Chinese brush jar was fitted with European mounts in the 1660s. The goldsmith copied the image of the table on the jar and included it on the elaborate cover. Such careful copying of detail is very unusual. The owner probably did not use this cup but kept it for display. [27/03/2003]
Materials
Porcelain; Silver; Hard paste porcelain
Techniques
Gilding; Casting; Chasing
Subjects depicted
Dog (animal)
Categories
Ceramics; Metalwork
Collection code
MET
