A rare faience plate from the service for the Order of the Black Eagle
Of flat form with no basal ring and slightly sloping border. Decorated to the centre with a large crowned oval cartouche containing the black eagle with the imperial orb and sceptre surrounded by the collar of the order. Bordered by a band of black eagles alternating with conjoined FR monograms. Unmarked. Wear, rim chips, a star-shaped crack to the centre. D 22.2 cm.
Delft, De Grieksche A. Manufactory, Pieter Adriaensz Kocks, 1701 - 1703.
In 1701, King Frederick I commissioned the Delft "De Grieksche A" manufactory with the production of a dinner service for the feast to celebrate the founding of the royal Order of the Black Eagle. This service was to be decorated with the emblems of the order, making it the first ceramic service of its kind. All pieces, including the plates, were to be used during the Order's annual banquet. The festivities are known to have taken place in the Knight's Court of Berlin Palace, at the latest by 1703.
Provenance
Berlin Private collection.
Literature
Cf. Lunsingh-Scheurleer, Munich 1984, no. 141. From the service for the court kitchens of the Berliner Stadtschloss, of which only very few pieces remain. Lunsingh-Scheurleer mentions "neben Schüsseln auch eine Reihe von Wandappliken und einen kleinen Tischbrunnen" (p. 47). The majority of these pieces are now housed in Charlottenburg palace. Cf. cat. Orden auf königlichem Porzellan, Petersberg 2013, illus.1.