Chinese Armorial Gaming Counters

This counter comes from a set made for Harry Gough (1681-1751) and his wife Elizabeth Hynde (?-1774). Gough made his fortune in the China Trade, starting out as an assistant at the age of eleven and rising to captain by 1707. Gough’s profits…

This counter was made for a member of the Tower family, identified by a tower in the center of the counter. Some arms closely resembled the family name as a pun and to quickly identify them. The detail of the counter makers is highly apparent in…

The arms of the Bootle family of Lancashire, England, decorate this counter. The counter is from a set made for one of two brothers; Robert Bootle (about 1708-1758), a captain and later member of the Board of Directors of the Honourable East India…

This counter is part of a set made for Henry Talbot and his wife Catherine Clopton of Stratford-on-Avon. They married in 1725. Mr. Talbot worked for the East India Company for many years, primarily in China, and even making several voyages to Canton.…

This gaming counter is smaller than others produced during the early 18th century, but its owner lived large. James Brydges (1673-1744), the man who owned this counter, was the eldest son of the 8th Baron Chandos of Sudeley. [1] He dropped out of…

This counter has the full arms of Stewart on one side, and the crest of a pelican in her piety, a Christian symbol, on the other. The arms were made for a member of the Stewart family of Jedburg, Scotland, but it is unclear exactly whom the counters…

“Chase” is the Warren family motto, and the man who owned this gaming counter embraced that message. Sir Peter Warren (c. 1703-1752) lived for the thrill of the chase. He was a decorated British naval officer and politician.[1] He was a…

This counter is among the oldest in the collection and was likely designed for Ombre — a Spanish card game that requires a steadfast approach.[1] It was ordered by the Godfrey family of Kent, along with around four sets of Chinese armorial…

This counter comes from an early eighteenth century set made for Eldred Lancelot Lee and his wife Isabella Gough or one of their two sons, Lancelot Lee or Harvey Lee.[i] It is from the same period as a porcelain set bearing the family's arms. A plate…

This fish-shaped counter comes from an early eighteenth-century set likely made for George Proctor (?-1744). Little is known about George other than his family lineage and his ownership of Langley Park in Norfolk, England. George’s sister, Anne…