53 - Porcelain tureen with heraldic decoration for the French market (Renaud de Saint-Germain). China. Qianlong period (1736–1795), circa 1775. The tureen is decorated in “Famille Rose” glazes, featuring the coat of arms of the Renault de Saint-Germain family. Dimensions: 37 x 21 cm. Restorations to the handles and minor chips.

Porcelain tureen with heraldic decoration for the French market (Renaud de Saint-Germain). China. Qianlong period (1736–1795), circa 1775. The tureen is decorated in “Famille Rose” glazes, featuring the coat of arms of the Renault de Saint-Germain family. Dimensions: 37 x 21 cm. Restorations to the handles and minor chips. The commission may be attributed to Pierre-Mathieu Renault de Saint-Germain (1697–1777), who was one of the leading figures of the French presence in Bengal in the 18th century. Born in Châtellerault in 1697, he set out for the Indies and arrived in Bengal in 1725, where he spent most of his career in the service of the French East India Company. Based in Chandernagor, the region’s main French trading post, he joined the Provincial Council in 1734. In 1746, he was appointed head of the French trading post in Patna, an important commercial center in the interior of the country. Upon his return to Chandernagor, he became a counselor for the Indies and deputy director of the trading post in 1754, before being appointed director in 1755. He thus held this position at a time when Franco-British rivalry was reaching its peak in India, shortly before the British capture of Chandernagore in 1757. He also served as a councilor on the Superior Council of Pondicherry, then as an honorary councilor for the Indies. His correspondence attests to his involvement in the Company’s commercial affairs and constitutes a valuable source on trade between France and Asia in the 18th century. After more than half a century closely associated with the French settlements in India, Pierre-Mathieu Renault de Saint- Germain died in Chandernagor in 1777. The commission could be attributed to his son, Joseph-Pierre-Xavier Renault de Saint-Germain (1733–1819), a prominent administrator of the French East India Company. He grew up in the heart of the French settlements in Bengal. He chose a military career and became a captain of grenadiers in the Indian Battalion, before commanding the French troops stationed in Bengal. He died in Port Louis, Mauritius, on November 19, 1819. For a lid from this order, see Antoine Lebel, French and Swiss Coats of Arms on 18th-Century Chinese Porcelain, 2009, p. 166.