Gaming Counter with the Arms of Peers
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This counter shows the arms of Peers of Chiselhampton Lodge in Oxfordshire, England. The arms are in the shape of a diamond, or lozenge, which indicates that the set of counters was owned by an unmarried woman.
The set most likely belonged to Sarah Peers, who was the only daughter of Sir Charles Peers of Chiselhampton Lodge.
[1] Charles Peers was born in 1661 and later served as a British consul in Malaga, before he returned to London and became chairman of the East India Company in 1714. A year later he was elected Lord Mayor of London and served for a year.[2]
It is reported that his second son, Sarah’s brother, Charles Peers, who was born in 1703, ordered two sets of Chinese porcelain in 1731 that were decorated with his coat of arms. [3] The invoice of this order still exists and proves that the porcelain was shipped from Canton to England aboard the Harrison.[4]
Most likely Charles Peers ordered two sets of gaming counters at the same time; one for himself and one for his sister. Sarah got married to Arthur Beaves, but no records exist that he brought a coat of arms into their marriage. [5]However, owning a set of gaming counters with her family’s coat of arms must have been a nice memory of her origins.
[1] John Burke, Bernard Burke.1850. A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland. London: H. Colburn. p..
[2] Archives in London and the M25 Area. Peers Charles (1661-1737). www.aim25.ac.uk. acessed 2/10/2016
[3] David S. Howard.2003. Chinese Armorial Porcelain. Vol.2 London. Faber. p.567
[4] Bonham Auctions https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/14342/lot/27/ accessed 2/10/2016
[5] John Burke
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