Porcelain plate with coat-of-arms design for the French mark - Lot 71

Porcelain plate with coat-of-arms design for the French market (Jean-François de Villages-Villevieille, chevalier de l'Ordre de Malte). China. Qianlong period (1736-1795), circa 1790 Provenance: J.M. Béalu et Fils, 3 rue du Bac, 75007 Paris Decorated in famille rose enamels, painted with trellis borders and with the arms of Villages de Villevieille, Argent, two empty triangles sable interlaced in the form of a star enclosing a heart gules. Commander's cross of the Order of Malta in chief. The arms are supported by two lions, eight-pointed professional crosses circumscribed within a rosary terminating in a cross of the Order of Malta. The arms are stamped with a marquis's crown, the crest in the shape of a golden lion. Commissioned by Jean-François de Villages de Villevieille (1742-1791). In 1784, at the behest of Grand Master Master Emmanuel de Rohan Polduc, as captain of the Magistrale galley in the Spanish expedition to capture Algiers. In 1788, he was promoted to Captain, Commander of Malta and holder of the Commanderie d'Argenteins. Arrested in 1789 during the Revolution, then released, he left Brest for Saint-Domingue, where he died. Size: 23 cm