The original 1974 volume listed nearly 3,000 services made for families with British connections, of which almost 2,000 were illustrated. This new 2003 edition illustrates some 3,380 services, and David Howard believes that perhaps as many as 2,000 more still await discovery.

The order in which this complex material is organized follows the method he introduced in the 1974 edition by dividing them according to the style of the designs on their rims.

Although the system is not perfect, containing minor contradictions and overlaps, it supplements dating most domestic and export Chinese porcelain that bears similar designs as the armorial porcelain why these documented items, sometimes datable to an exact year, provide information with regards to form, pattern, motif and color palette that can be applied both to export wares and to Qing dynasty porcelain more generally.

For supplementary and updating material there is a useful website to complement the book www.chinese-armorial-porcelain.co.uk.

Hardcover: 900 pages
Publisher: Heirloom & Howard Ltd.; 1st edition (2003)
Language: English
ASIN: B000P72736

CLASSIC – on export porcelain in general and specifically, on Armorial porcelain for Great Britain