Lobed stand, Yongzheng c.1730, with the arms of Scott of Harden
An unusual, large lobed flat stand or dish, 9½ inches across, with the arms of Scott of Harden. From one of the least known of the 140 armorial services with a rouge-de-fer border. Only this piece, and a large covered jug, illustrated in a 1928 catalogue by Sir Algernon Tudor-Craig, are recorded, though curiously the motto ‘Amo’ on the jug does not appear on the stand although the decoration is otherwise identical. This piece will replace the black and white image in the revised edition of the first volume of Chinese Armorial Porcelain.
The Scotts of Harden, from whom the novelist Sir Walter Scott was descended and researched diligently, were a family notorious for their audacious border raids across the English border in the 16th century, of whom the freebooting exploits of the infamous ‘Auld Wat’ Scott (1550-1629) were the stuff of Border legend and ballad. The two pieces from an assumed larger service were almost certainly made for John Scott, 8th Laird of Harden, who died in 1734.
Reference : Howard, David S.; Chinese Armorial Porcelain, Volume I, p.219
Condition : Very small reverse flake repaired, otherwise perfect. Minor retouching; traces of gold remaining on shield.
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