A RARE 'VOC' TEA BOWL AND SAUCERYongzheng, circa 1735Enamelled with a large coat-of-arms for the State of Holland above the cypher monogram of the Dutch East India Company, all beneath the inscription CONCORDIA CRESCUNT 1728.The saucer: 10.2cm (4in) diam. (2).Footnotes:The design has been accurately copied from one side of a silver coin, issued by the Dutch East India Company in 1728 for use in the Far East. This type of silver coin (ducatoon) was struck and issued between 1726 and 1751. The tea service to which this cup and saucer belonged was arguably commissioned by the Company to commemorate the successful launch of its new coinage.Other pieces from this service include cups and saucers in the British Museum, reference no. Franks.797.+; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (no. 645 & a-1907), in the Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands (Hong Kong, 1984, no.43), and in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Le Corbeiller, 1974, no.43)