64 - Very large porcelain dish with a coat-of-arms design for the English market (Captain Hudson), China. Qianlong period (1736–1795), circa 1770. This very large platter is decorated along the rim with garlands of flowers and, in the center, the combined coat of arms of the Hudson (or Hodgson) family—presumably from Northumberland—and the Field family. The former’s coat of arms is described as follows: Gules, three silver merlets arranged in a band or bar, accompanied by three merlets in counter-color; a silver chief charged with a black crossette. It is empaled with that of the Field family: Sable, a chevron between three sheaves of silver. The coat of arms is accompanied by the motto “Sors mihi placet.” Dimensions: 41.5 cm x 34 cm. Some wear to the gilding

Very large porcelain dish with a coat-of-arms design for the English market (Captain Hudson), China. Qianlong period (1736–1795), circa 1770. This very large platter is decorated along the rim with garlands of flowers and, in the center, the combined coat of arms of the Hudson (or Hodgson) family—presumably from Northumberland—and the Field family. The former’s coat of arms is described as follows: Gules, three silver merlets arranged in a band or bar, accompanied by three merlets in counter-color; a silver chief charged with a black crossette. It is empaled with that of the Field family: Sable, a chevron between three sheaves of silver. The coat of arms is accompanied by the motto “Sors mihi placet.” Dimensions: 41.5 cm x 34 cm. Some wear to the gilding The Hudsons had long-standing ties to British trade in Asia. Several members of the family were, in fact, in the service of the English East India Company during the 18th century. Captain Robert Hudson is thus recorded on several occasions in Canton between 1713 and 1734. A few years later, in 1738, Captain Charles Hudson stayed there in turn as commander of the Talbot. These successive visits attest to the family’s involvement in maritime trade with China long before the creation of this coat of arms, which dates from around 1770.