A rare Berlin KPM porcelain vase with a portrait of Joan of Arc
Small, unidentified baluster-form model with scalopped rim. The display side painted with a portrait of Joan of Arc in a round frame, the reverse with a bearded mascaron. Monogram signature TH on apple-green ground, blue sceptre mark, red imperial orb mark, black 10 and gilt 43., year letter L with three dots, impressed marks. Restored rim. H 16.7 cm.
1911, painted by Hermann Thiele.
Pâte-sur-pâte was first introduced by the French Sèvres manufactory at the Great London Exhibition of 1862. Meissen were first able to accomplish similar décor in slip or mass painting ten years later in 1873, creating astounding results and products that were competitive on the international market. KPM in Berlin first began experimenting with the technique as of 1880. Most products in mass painting were carried out by Alexander Kips from 1888 to 1908. In order to enhance their luxurious effect, these experimental grounds were often picked out in gilt relief, and are among the most astonishing pieces ever produced by the manufactory.
Literature
For more on this technique see: Dietz, Blühende Zeit der KPM, Petersberg 2013, p. 70 ff.
Cf. also: Siemen (ed.), Impulse. Europäische Porzellanmanufakturen als Wegbereiter internationaler Lebenskultur, Hohenberg 1995, I-338.