A rare pair of "Battle of the Saintes" bowls, circa 1784. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2012

Each finely painted en grisaille with a grand panorama of the battle, on one centering an oval inscribed Breaking of the Line on the ever Memorable 12th of April, on the other two figures, an Englishman with faint inscription above You be damned and a Frenchman with Vous etez un Bete: 15¾ inches (40 cm) diameter (2). Estimlte $30,000 - $50,000

Notes: Four or five of these striking bowls were made to commemorate the famous 1782 British naval victory, each faithfully copying engravings made after the pair of grand paintings of Robert Dodd (1748-1815), known for his meticulous and accurate renderings of naval battles (sold Christie's, London, 24 November 2010, lot 25, one shown below).

In the spring of 1782 Admiral Lord Rodney mounted a full-scale fleet operation to counter French successes in the Caribbean. The British fleet met the French, commanded by Comte de Grasse, near a small group of islands known as Les Saintes, and, after three days of pitched battle, pierced the French line of battle in two places, decisively defeating their enemies and securing Jamaica from capture.
Rodney's breaking the line tactic, isolating and engaging ships to leeward, was revolutionary. The victorious Admiral was thanked by a grateful Parliament and in June 1782 raised to the peerage.
These magnificent bowls must have been ordered by or for those closely involved in the victory. One, sold Sotheby's, London, 27 October 1970, bore the inscription The Gift of a Commander of an Indiaman a small but grateful Testimony of Respect to Lord Rodney's Merit and Services; another, with Heirloom & Howard 1977, shows instead an Italianate landscape with ladies, hounds and a castle.
For a discussion of this rare subject see Hervouët & Bruneau, op cit, p 49 and D Howard, The Sailing Ship on Chinese Porcelain, Ellis Memorial Antique Show, Fall 1977 cat, pp 49-52. 

Christie's.  The Peter H B Frelinghuysen Jr Collection of Chinese Export Porcelain. 24 January 2012. New York, Rockefeller Plaza www.christies.com