An important Chinese blue and white porcelain bottle, marked with the initials of Joan van Hoorn, Governor-General of the former Dutch East-Indies 
 

Kangxi period, late 17th/early 18th century, marked with the initials of Joan van Hoorn

Each side decorated with elegant ladies standing by a table with a vase of flowers, in a garden with fence and rockwork with peonies.

H. 28.7 cm

Note:

Joan van Hoorn (1653 – 1711) arrived in Batavia in 1663 together with his parents, a bankrupt family but very well connected with the Amsterdam upper-class. Joan joined the VOC at the age of 12. Marriage into the right families was very important in the Dutch 18th century and that is what Joan did. His first marriage, to Anna Struis, brought him a fortune and the position of Director General and member of the Council of Dutch East India.

After Anna’s death he married Susanna, the daughter of the Governor General Willem van Outhoorn, whom he succeeded in 1701. When Susanna also died Joan decided to marry Johanna Maria van Riebeeck, the daughter of his most important opponent in the Council. He paid the clergyman who was to celebrate his marriage a thousand rixdollars for a sermon to his taste. Van Hoorn started to experiment with new products for the European market such as tea, coffee, textiles and ceramics.

In 1709 he returned to Holland a wealthy man but he enjoyed his wealth for only just over a year. Jenever bottles, like this one, Joan van Hoorn had made in China to give away as presents.