Soft-paste porcelain plate with the coat of arms of the Duke of Clarence, future William IV, 1789, Worcester porcelain, Flight factory, Diameter: 9.7 inches85-piece Derby porcelain dinner service for the 8th Duke of Hamilton, circa 1780-90
Armorial ware or heraldic china (and a variety of other terms) are ceramics decorated with a coat of arms, either that of a family, or an institution or place. Armorials have been popular on European pottery from the Middle Ages with examples seen on Spanish Hispano-Moresque ware, Italian maiolica, slipware, English and Dutch Delft, and on porcelain from the 18th century. Earlier examples were mostly large pieces such as jugs or basins and ewers, but later whole table services, all painted with the arms, were produced.
Silver tableware also often had coats of arms engraved on it, but as porcelain replaced metal as the favoured material for elite tableware in the 18th century, armorial porcelain became very popular. When overglaze decoration was used, the pottery could produce the glazed ware without the arms, which were then added when a commission was received.
Replica White House china with the arms of the United States
The term is most often associated with Chinese export porcelain, often decorated with the arms and crests of European and American families from the late 17th century through the 19th century.[1] A painting of the arms was sent out to China, and after a considerable period the painted service arrived. British clients imported about 4000 services from 1695 until 1820, when a new prohibitive tax stopped the trade, as the British government sought to protect the domestic potteries.[2]
They were, and even more are, often used at table only on special occasions. They are popular with collectors. Seventeenth-century Dutch armorial plates are called wapenborden and were commonly sold with recurring emblems that cannot be traced to any specific family.
Hispano-Moresque ware, Manises, basin with arms of Maria of Castile, before 1458
Italian maiolica dish by Nicola da Urbino, c. 1525, with story of Marsyas.
1620 - ca.1640 Dutch armorial plate, Rijksmuseum
Chinese "custard cup", c. 1750
Plate for the Swedish Grill family, China, 18th century.
Armorialware or heraldic china (and a variety of other terms) are ceramics decorated with a coat of arms, either that of a family, or an institution...
same year, Queen Charlotte gave official permission to call it "Queen's Ware" (from 1767). This new form, perfected as white pearlware (from 1780), sold...
composed of bone ash, feldspathic material, and kaolin. It has been defined as "ware with a translucent body" containing a minimum of 30% of phosphate derived...
of companies French porcelain Chinese porcelain in European painting Armorialware Types: Medici (1575) Rouen (1673) Saint-Cloud (1693) Meissen (1710)...
Imari ware (Japanese: 伊万里焼, Hepburn: Imari-yaki) is a Western term for a brightly-coloured style of Arita ware (有田焼, Arita-yaki) Japanese export porcelain...
Hasami ware and Tobe ware are more popular wares mostly using in blue and white. Large Arita ware dish, c. 1680, imitating Chinese export Kraak ware. Japanese...
ware and Jizhou ware made during the Song dynasty are examples. Porcelain, on a Western definition, is "a collective term comprising all ceramic ware...
monarchies) the head of state personally and tends to be used in print, on armorialware, and as a wall decoration in official buildings. The royal arms of a...
as the resumption of large imports of Chinese export porcelain, often armorial porcelain decorated to order, led to matching "china" services becoming...
these high temperatures. End applications include tableware, decorative ware such as figurines, toilets ("porcelain thrones") and washbasins, and products...
Kutani ware (九谷焼, Kutani-yaki) is a style of Japanese porcelain traditionally supposed to be from Kutani, now a part of Kaga, Ishikawa, in the former Kaga...
Kraak ware or Kraak porcelain (Dutch Kraakporselein) is a type of Chinese export porcelain produced mainly in the late Ming dynasty, in the Wanli reign...
Transitional garlic-headed vase, mid 17th century Kraak ware dish; relatively unusually it is armorial porcelain, for the Wittelsbach family. Wanli reign During...
giving the impression of symmetry. The onion pattern was designed as a white ware decorated with cobalt blue underglaze pattern. Sometimes dishes have gold...
sub-type of what is called in the West Imari ware, the overglaze coloured variety of the broader grouping Arita ware, dominant in Japanese export porcelain...
of companies French porcelain Chinese porcelain in European painting Armorialware Types: Medici (1575) Rouen (1673) Saint-Cloud (1693) Meissen (1710)...
requested examples of Delftware. One form of export ware rarely produced in Japan, unlike China, was armorialware, at least partly because of the difficulty during...
Yue ware originated in the Yue kilns of Northern Zhejiang, in the site of Jiyuan near Shaoxing, called "Yuezhou" (越州) in ancient times. Yue ware was first...
especially the Dutch VOC, this became possible, and eventually even specific armorial designs could be ordered from Europe. Europeans purchased some Chinese...
in 1710. The first type of ware produced by Böttger was a refined and extremely hard red stoneware known as "Böttger ware" in English (in German: Böttgersteinzeug)...
returned in the red anchor period in the form of versions of Japanese Imari ware, but are more common with the gold anchor. These were to remain an English...
of companies French porcelain Chinese porcelain in European painting Armorialware Types: Medici (1575) Rouen (1673) Saint-Cloud (1693) Meissen (1710)...
of companies French porcelain Chinese porcelain in European painting Armorialware Types: Medici (1575) Rouen (1673) Saint-Cloud (1693) Meissen (1710)...
stoneware, glazed pottery, glazed stoneware, porcelain, and blue-and-white ware. Japan has an exceptionally long and successful history of ceramic production...
Ding ware, Ting ware (Chinese: 定瓷; pinyin: Dìngcí) or Dingyao are Chinese ceramics, mostly porcelain, that were produced in the prefecture of Dingzhou...
composed of bone ash, feldspathic material, and kaolin. It has been defined as ware with a translucent body containing a minimum of 30% of phosphate derived...
Global Information
Hispano-Moresque ware, Manises, basin with arms of Maria of Castile, before 1458
Italian maiolica dish by Nicola da Urbino, c. 1525, with story of Marsyas.
1620 - ca.1640 Dutch armorial plate, Rijksmuseum
Chinese "custard cup", c. 1750
Plate for the Swedish Grill family, China, 18th century.
1645-1655 Haarlem armorial plate, Rijksmuseum
