A FAMILLE ROSE 'VALENTINE-PATTERN' FIVE-PIECE PART BEVERAGE SERVICE Qianlong period, circa 1755 Comprising three pear-shaped vessels and covers for tea, milk and hot water, and a fourth cone-shaped pot and cover for chocolate, along with a matching ogival tray, painted in rich 'rose' enamels with the so-called valentine pattern depicting paired kissing doves, a bow and a quiver of arrows, two standing flower arrangements either side of an alter with a flaming heart, a large curtain tied back with flower garlands and a double monogrammed cartouche with initials below a coronet. the tray: 8 5/16in (21.1cm) across; the tallest pot: 5 3/4in (14.6cm) high (5). Footnotes: 乾隆時期 約1755年 粉彩描金《愛侶》紋飲品用器同組五件 Published: Cohen & Cohen, A Game of Bowls, Ghent, 2014, pp. 82-83, no. 61 出版： 倫敦Cohen & Cohen古董行，《A Game of Bowls》，根特，2014年，頁82-83，圖版編號61 This well-known subject, a romantic fantasy alluding to European classical mythology, is found on a small range of Chinese export pieces, but the origins of the design are not clear. It seems probable that it was originally created for Lord Anson in 1743 and is based on a drawing by Sir Piercy Brett (c1710-1781), a gifted amateur artist who was a lieutenant on Anson's flagship HMS Centurion during his voyage round the world 1740-4. Anson promoted Brett to become Captain of the Centurion on 30 Sept 1743, while they were in Canton, and Brett did many drawings during the voyage. The earliest version of this so-called 'Valentine' pattern has a breadfruit tree and palm tree, which then re-appear in the center of an export armorial dinner service with the arms of Anson. In the famous Anson service, the tree has acquired garlands of flowers and many of the elements of this pattern are present: the flaming hearts on an altar, the dogs, the shepherd's crook, the birds, the bow and arrows. The version of this design on the present set omits some of them, but also includes the drawn-back curtains which perhaps suggest an erotic adventure as they resemble the drapes around a four-poster bed. Such Classical suggestive allusions would have appealed and been readily comprehensible to a literate eighteenth century audience educated in the Greek and Roman classical texts. The use of pastoral imagery and allusive symbolism as codes for 'amorous activities' was ubiquitous during the 18th century, found widely in the poetry of the period. This set must surely have been ordered for, or as a result of, the marriage of a young couple, whose initials form the complex monogram which appears to read as MH & MH or MH and AIH. References: Litzenberg, 2003, p. 221, for a similar set but decorated with Chinese figures: Howard, 1994, no. 134, for a set of two jugs; Jörg, 1989, nos. 22 and 100; Beurdeley, 1962, cat. 109, a mug; Forbes, 1982, no. 73, for a coverless tureen and stand; Hervoüet and Bruneau, 1986, no. 7.118, for a plate, and 7.119 for a saucer with a monogrammed Valentine design that also includes buildings.