c. 1763

Platter

This platter was originally part of a large and important dinner service made to order in China for Gijsbert Jan Feith (1719–1775). Feith was born in the Netherlands but lived most of his life in the East Indies. He rose to some prominence in Batavia (modern Jakarta), the capital of the East Indies and the principal harbor for Dutch ships sailing to and from Europe, and likely ordered the service in 1763, the year in which he was appointed alderman of Batavia. Feith must have had an interest in family heraldry as he commissioned decoration that is unique for export porcelain: in addition to his own coat of arms, he included the arms and family names of his father, mother (van Hardenbroek), and her parents (Cock and Merlot).