Conclusion

Armorials were originally used to identify knights on the battlefield, then they became a sign of ownership, kinship and belonging. Armorials appeared on earthenware in the early 1600s, and on stonewares after 1650. Chinese porcelain was being imported into England by the East India Company from the 1690s, when armigerous patrons began to commission pieces and services adorned with their own armorials. The reasons for armorial porcelain commissions are reviewed. Porcelain factories were established in Germany and France under Royal patronage from 1710 onwards; however, this did not happen in England and there was a hiatus until the 1740s before the earliest porcelain manufactories established. Some reasons for this delay are considered. A further gap of some 20 years before the first known armorial dinner service commission from a British factory was made, in 1767, and the reasons for this are considered. By the 1750s, multiple fledgling porcelain manufactories were operating, with varying degrees of commercial success. Livery company officials were early patrons for armorial porcelains from the British manufactories, with commissions from armigerous families following several years later; some reasons for this are proposed. The East India Company ceased the import of Chinese porcelain to Britain in 1796; the factors leading to this are also discussed.