Chinese Export Porcelain

Items

• Dish with IHS monogram, armillary sphere, and Portuguese royal arms
  While the doglike lions illustrate a Chinese theme, the Portuguese coat of arms and the armillary sphere (a type of celestial globe) are often found on works made for Portugal in the early sixteenth century. The letters "I.H.S.," a well-known Latin reference to Jesus Christ, would later be adopted by the Jesuits (Society of Jesus founded in 1534) as a symbol for their order.