51 - Porcelain plate with a coat-of-arms design for the French market (Claude de Beauharnais), China. Qianlong period (1736–1795), circa 1765. The plate is decorated in “Famille Rose” glazes, with garlands of flowers along the rim, and in the center, the coat of arms of the Beauharnais family, Argent, a fess sable, accompanied in chief by three merlettes of the same. Dimensions: 22 cm Some wear.

Porcelain plate with a coat-of-arms design for the French market (Claude de Beauharnais), China. Qianlong period (1736–1795), circa 1765. The plate is decorated in “Famille Rose” glazes, with garlands of flowers along the rim, and in the center, the coat of arms of the Beauharnais family, Argent, a fess sable, accompanied in chief by three merlettes of the same. Dimensions: 22 cm Some wear. Claude-Joseph de Beauharnais (1717–1784), Count of Roches- Baritaud, was born in Rochefort on January 16, 1717, into a family closely connected to the Royal Navy and the colonial administration. The son of Claude de Beauharnais, a naval officer, and Renée Hardouineau, he in turn pursued a career in the Navy. He served notably in Canada, where he commanded the French artillery for several years before being promoted to captain on May 15, May 1756 and made a Knight of the Order of Saint Louis. During the Seven Years’ War, he commanded the frigate La Bellone, with which he fought, on February 21, 1759, a fierce naval battle against British ships off Cape Lizard. An officer of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis, he continued his career, rising to the rank of square-ruddered squadron commander in the naval forces. In 1753, he married Marie-Anne- Françoise Mouchard de Chaban, known in literary circles as Fanny de Beauharnais. The Beauharnais family was deeply involved in 18th-century French maritime and colonial affairs. Several of its members served the monarchy in the overseas possessions: Claude-Joseph’s uncle, Charles de Beauharnais de La Boische, was governor-general of New France from 1726 to 1746, while his brother François de Beauharnais served as governor of Martinique. The family also had significant interests in the West Indies, particularly in Saint-Domingue, where it owned property. He died in Paris on December 25, 1784, after a long career in the service of the Royal Navy. Claude- Joseph de Beauharnais (1717–1784) was the paternal uncle by marriage of Joséphine de Beauharnais.