A rare set of six Chinese export porcelain 'Governor Swellengrebel' plates
Three shallow and three deeper dishes in porcelain with underglaze blue and heightened with gold, with in the center of the plates painted in grisaille and gold in side an oval shield, a gold fleur-de-lis under a coronet with two gold stag horns on top.
Diam. 23.5 cm (each)
The fleur-de-lis coat of arms is associated with the Swellengrebel family, first documented in the 14th century in Nordhausen, Germany. During the 17th and 18th centuries, several members of the Swellengrebel family participated in the VOC and were stationed at several VOC trading posts, including the Cape Colony and Canton. The current plates constitute a substantial dinner service commissioned by Hendrik Swellengrebel (Cape of Good Hope 1700 – Utrecht 1760). Hendrik, the progeny of Johannes Swellengrebel (Moscow 1671 – Cape Town 1744) and Johanna Cruse (Cape Town 1682 – 1715), was the inaugural individual born in the Cape to assume the position of Governor-General of the Dutch Cape of Good Hope from 1739 to 1750, when he departed for Holland. The dinner set he bought in China arrived at the Cape shortly after his departure and was subsequently dispatched to Holland.
Provenance:
Hendrik A.M. Swellengrebel (1942-2021) the great-great-great-great-grandson of Governor Hendrik Swellengrebel of the Cape
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