Bureau Find

[Jagoman]

Hi All,

Help would be appreciated in identifying Coat of Arms and maker of small dish found in secret drawer of Bureau. Looks like two Lions, Crown and Castle. Unfortunately there were no gold coins in the drawer or anything else to help.

Many thanks

Jagoman

[MaecW]

Looks like early Delft ware, probably made in China. The Arms on it will have been drawn by an artist, with no knowledge of European heraldry, from a sketch or description provided by the family ordering the dishes / plates.
At a quick glance I can't see a likely family but I notice there is a fish over the castle. As a very long shot there is an Admiral Fish in the early 1800s who lived at Castle Fish in co. Kildare, Ireland in a village the Fish family had renamed after themselves. It is just possible that the Arms are a pun on the family residence. Or that may be pure coincidence !
Maec

[Jagoman]

Hi Maec

Many thanks for your quick reply.  I had not noticed the fish which is a lot easier to see when you zoom in. The Crest does seam crude and amateur.  There is a connection with both Ireland and China with a Master Mariner getting married in Antrim Northern Ireland in 1855 and travelling to and from Cornwall to China with cargo. He and his wife actually lived in Cornwall with no known reason why they married in Ireland.  Early Delft is probably before their time.

Kind regards

Jagoman

[KGarrad]

The horizontal lines (called hatching) usually indicates a blue colour, aka azure.

And the crown is a ducal crown in most European countries (8 strawberry leaves, 5 of which are visible).

My guess? It's a holiday memento from a town, featuring their coat-of-arms

Azure, a castle, and in chief a fish between 2 other objects (not sure what on earth they are!).

[Jagoman]

Hi KGarrad,

Thanks for your time and help. In other words an ashtray acquired from a small European town. With your information I will set about searching France, Switzerland, Denmark and Holland which I know the family traveled before and after the war. (We have the Cine film of the 30s which might give us a clue as well). The fish could be a indication to a sea port or riverside town and strawberry leaves may be a farming region.  Could the Strawberry leafs be Vine leaves?

The dish does look like it has age to it and does not have indents for cigarettes.

Kind regards

Jagoman

[KGarrad]

As I said - it's a ducal crown; the crown/coronet of a duke.
That's what the strawberry leaves indicate
Lesser nobles had "pearls" on short or long stems. The rank of nobility is indicated by the strawberry leaves and pearls.
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_(heraldry)#Commonwealth_usage

Could even be an Irish town?