A Berlin KPM porcelain plate with botanical decor - image-1
A Berlin KPM porcelain plate with botanical decor - image-2
A Berlin KPM porcelain plate with botanical decor - image-1A Berlin KPM porcelain plate with botanical decor - image-2

Lot 52 Dα

A Berlin KPM porcelain plate with botanical decor

Auction 1125 - overview Berlin
07.11.2018, 18:00 - The Twinight Collection I
Estimate: 3.000 € - 5.000 €
Result: 6.875 € (incl. premium)

A Berlin KPM porcelain plate with botanical decor

Model no. 1103. Decorated to the centre with a botanical motif, inscribed to the underside "Verbascum Blattarioides. Portugal." Bordered by gilt palmettes and a trailing design of the same plant. Blue sceptre mark, red half moon, impressed 22, incised III. D 23.8 cm.
1809 - 13, after a motif by Gottfried Wilhelm Völcker.

This plate was made in connection with the order for the French Empress Joséphine which KPM produced between 1806 and 1807. The centres of each of the plates were painted with a naturalistic flower based on contemporary botanical prints in the highest quality the manufactory could achieve. The borders were painted with classical ornaments on chamois coloured ground. The undersides of the plates are all inscribed with the botanical names of the plants depicted in black handwriting. The French court provided detailed instructions on how the decor should look, including an exact list of all the plants to be depicted. The Portuguese mullein is not included in this list. However, the quality of the painting is undeniable. Wittwer found the print upon which this depiction is based under the name "Flore portugaise" in a botanical compendium published in 1809, which is housed in the KPM archive.

Literature

Wittwer (ed.), Raffinesse & Eleganz, Munich 2007, no. 65.
Die Bestellung und der Umfang wiedergegeben im Katalog zur Ausstellung L'Impératrice Joséphine et les sciences naturelles, Musée national des châteaux de Malmaison et Bois-Préau, 1997.
Cf. Sterba, Napoléon und Joséphine - Kryptische Symbolik einer Liebe in der Dekoration eines botanischen Services für die Kaiserin, in: Keramos 194/2006, p. 73 ff.

Exhibitions

Raffinesse & Eleganz - Königliche Porzellane des frühen 19. Jahrhunderts aus einer amerikanischen Prrivatsammlung, Berlin, Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten, Schloss Charlottenburg, 28th July - 4th November 2007
Die Sammlung Cohen. Porzellane der grossen Manufakturen 1800 - 1840. Wien, Liechtenstein Museum, 16th November 2007 - 11th February 2008
Refinement & Elegance - Early 19th-Century Royal Porcelain from an American private collection, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 9th September 2008 - 19th April 2009