A Chinese en-grisaille, gilt and reouge-de-fer 'Ovando' armorial plate for the Spanish market

A Chinese en-grisaille, gilt and reouge-de-fer 'Ovando' armorial plate for the Spanish market

Qing dynasty, Qianlong period, circa 1750

Enamelled and gilt to the centre with the coat-of-arms of José de Ovando y Solís, 1st Marquis of Ovando (1693-1755), with a marquis coronet as a crest, surrounded by an elaborate diamond trelliswork and framed by rococo scrolls and the letters OBANDO in gold, the rim with elaborate border with peacocks and daisies, based on border designs of the Royal Vienna porcelain factory founded in 1717.

29cm diameter.

清乾隆約一七五零 外銷西班牙墨彩描金繪奧萬多（Ovando）家族徽章盤

José de Ovando y Solís, 1st Marquis of Ovando (1693-1755) was born in Cáceres in Spain and took part in the Spanish War of Succession ((1701 - 1714), siding with the Austrians. He chose a career in the military, enlisting in the Regimen of the Crown and later in the naval battalions, soon rising through the ranks to become governor of the South China Sea in 1743, then Governor of Chile two years later, and Governor General of the Philippines between 1750-1754.

This plate comes from the first of two services ordered by him, probably when he first arrived in Manila in 1750.

This service is illustrated by Jorge Welsh & Rocio Diaz in Chinese Armorial for Spain (Jorge Welsh Books, London and Lisbon, November, 2010, n. 10, pp. 130-133), with a cup from the V&A and a plate from a private collection.

A number of pieces from this service are in museum collections worldwide, including the Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas (Madrid), the Victoria & Albert Museum (London), The Museo Historico de Acapulco – Fuerte de San Diego (see, Porcelain de la Compana de Indias para Mexico, exhibition catalogue Instituto national de Antropologica, Historia Mexico City, 2002, p. 74).