A pair of Nymphenburg porcelain ice pails with Atlas decor
Porzellan, polychromer Emaildekor, Goldränderungen. Cooling vessels with rocaille handles and original lids on three paw feet. Impressed rhombus mark and o, incised L. Firing cracks to all three supports. H 20.7, W c. 26 cm.
Around 1790.
This ambitious design is based on a model by Sèvres. The Residence today houses an extensive service with bird décor ordered by King Louis XV of France and presented by Carl Nicolaus Dalesme to Prince Elector Carl Theodor of Palatinate in May 1760. The pieces arrived in Munich in 1777 when they were passed on to his childless Bavarian relative Max III Joseph, where they inspired the Nymphenburg manufactory. According to Alfred Ziffer, the vessels were used by placing crushed ice into the hollowed out lids to cool the food inside the dish. This model was usually supplied with two additional shallow dishes which hung inside the vessel from the rim, thus allowing for an additional layer of ice to be placed in the base to increase the cooling period. However, no Nymphenburg model has yet been found that includes these additional dishes.
Provenance
G. Röbbig, Munich. Private collection, Palatinate.
Literature
A further, identical cooling vessel in: Ziffer, Nymphenburger Porzellan Sammlung Bäuml, Stuttgart 1997, no. 665.