Estimate

15.000 - 20.000

Session 1

16 December 2025

Hammer Price

Description

Chinese porcelain
Piriform body with tall cylindrical neck
Decorated in underglaze blue, the body with three shaped reserves composed of acanthus leaves, shell motifs and scrolls
The first reserve contains the insignia of the Order of Saint Francis (crossed arms beneath the cross and INRI motto), the second depicts the Five Wounds of Christ and the third is left blank
Neck decorated with a band of palmettes alternating with fleur-de-lis motifs, above a frieze of stylised petals repeated near the base
Neck with applied metal rim and cover
Kangxi period (1662-1722)

Height: 25 cm

Additional Information

The presence of the arms of the Order of Saint Francis on Chinese porcelain from the Kangxi period places this bottle within the rare group of commissions intended for Portuguese religious institutions between the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The iconography – Franciscan arms crossed beneath the cross, the INRI motto and the Five Wounds of Christ – corresponds to the heraldic repertoire used by the Franciscans and the Third Order, documented both in liturgical objects and pieces for conventual use.
The strong Franciscan presence in Portugal and their missionary activity overseas fostered the production in China of personalised porcelain with devotional emblems. Similar bottles are known in Portuguese collections, some also associated with the Order. The structure in three reserves, one with the Franciscan insignia, another with the Wounds and a third left blank, follows models present in those examples.
Although it is not possible to attribute the bottle to a specific convent, the decorative scheme confirms that this is a Portuguese commission linked to the Franciscan family, part of the restricted corpus of armorial porcelain of religious character.

Literature:
Castro, Nuno de, "A Porcelana Chinesa ao Tempo do Império", p. 360
Santos, A. Varela, "Portugal na Porcelana da China - 500 Anos de Comércio", vol. II, pp. 572-575
Dias, Pedro, "Heráldica Portuguesa na Porcelana da China Qing", pp. 356-357
Maria Antónia Pinto de Matos. Cerâmica da China. Coleção RA, Volume III, pp. 184–187.