A finely engraved group of three early nineteenth-century Chinese export mother-of-pearl gaming counters, each engraved with distinctive heraldic devices and attractive figural reverse scenes.

Bibliographic Details

Author: Chinese export workshop, hongs of Canton.
Title: Group of three armorial mother-of-pearl gaming counters.
Place of Production: China, for the British export market.
Date: Circa 1810.
Objects: Three engraved gaming counters.
Engravings: Each counter engraved to one side with heraldic crest, motto, or monogram, and to the reverse with a finely executed Chinese character scene.
Size: Two rectangular counters measuring approx. 6 × 2.3 cm each; and one circular of 3.5cm diameter.
Provenance: Each with certificate of authenticity.

Condition

Very Good overall for objects of this fragile and highly collectible type. Please study all images carefully for the best sense of condition and detail.

Description

A highly attractive group of three Chinese export armorial gaming counters, carved in mother-of-pearl and engraved circa 1810 for the British market. These small luxury objects were made in Canton for use in card and gaming culture, but they also served as highly personalised items of family identity, often bearing crests, mottoes, initials, and other heraldic devices commissioned by individual British and colonial clients.

The most immediately striking of the three is the counter engraved with the motto of Glengarry, together with bagpipes and thistles — a particularly evocative Scottish design which may be associated with the Macdonell of Glengarry family and, by extension, the later Glengarry associations in Ontario, Canada. This example has a geometric border and a notably well-drawn reverse scene.

The second counter has a finely drilled border and an engraved crest of a griffin rampant, together with especially delicate back-hatching to the central roundel. The reverse again shows a high-quality Chinese figural scene, demonstrating the pleasing contrast so often found in these objects between Western heraldic commission and Chinese workshop artistry.

The third counter, also with geometric border, bears a crest of a leopard sejant ringed and lined together with the unusual monogram “M & MW”, possibly indicating a husband-and-wife commission. This piece is probably associated with the Wentworth family and retains another appealing engraved reverse scene.

Taken together, the group offers exactly what collectors hope to find in good early export counters: distinct heraldic identity, attractive Chinese engraving, and variation from one piece to the next. They are also highly appealing as miniature works of decorative art in their own right, with all the charm, refinement, and cabinet presence that has made Chinese mother-of-pearl counters so sought after.

Notes

Chinese export gaming counters were produced in quantity during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, but genuinely interesting armorial examples remain especially desirable, particularly when they can be linked to identifiable families, Scottish or colonial associations, or unusual monograms and crests.

This small group is especially appealing for its variety, its quality of engraving, and the presence of the Glengarry piece, which adds a particularly strong layer of clan and diaspora interest. Such counters sit at the intersection of Chinese export art, heraldry, genealogy, and Georgian gaming culture.

A beautifully engraved and highly collectible trio of early nineteenth-century Chinese export counters, with strong family and decorative appeal.