A Meissen porcelain plate from the service for the Duke of Wellington - image-1
A Meissen porcelain plate from the service for the Duke of Wellington - image-2
A Meissen porcelain plate from the service for the Duke of Wellington - image-3
A Meissen porcelain plate from the service for the Duke of Wellington - image-1A Meissen porcelain plate from the service for the Duke of Wellington - image-2A Meissen porcelain plate from the service for the Duke of Wellington - image-3

Lot 140 Dα

A Meissen porcelain plate from the service for the Duke of Wellington

Auction 1125 - overview Berlin
07.11.2018, 18:00 - The Twinight Collection I
Estimate: 20.000 € - 30.000 €

A Meissen porcelain plate from the service for the Duke of Wellington

The well filled with a finely painted view labelled "Le Village de Plauen, près de Dresde." to the reverse. The border with a laurel and oak wreath tied with a green and white ribbon. Blue crossed swords mark with I, impressed 21. D 23.6 cm.
1818 - 20.

King Frederick August I of Saxony ordered "the service, encompassing 134 pieces in total, richly gilt and decorated with vedutas of sites of the Napoleonic Wars in order to present an opulent diplomatic gift in London in the manner of those sent by King Frederick William III of Prussia and Emperor Franz I of Austria. None of the porcelain manufactories was in a good state at that time, having suffered so much hardship due to the political situation. High tariffs and trade prohibitions hit sales during a delicate period. (...) The arrival of a new artist at the manufactory on 1st July 1818 was a happy coincidence. As head painter, Georg Friedrich Kersting took over the artistic management of the royal commission and ensured high quality standards in the painted decor." (Wittwer, p. 395). Other artists involved in the production of the service included Johann Samuel Arhnhold, Johann Gottlieb Böhlig, Christian Gottlieb Hottewitzsch, and Johann Friedrich Nagel. The plate is painted in the finest Meissen style. It shows an atmospheric morning landscape with a carriage, strolling figures, and a washerwoman on the banks of the Elbe. The green and white ribbon is that of the "Zivildienstorden", which was awarded by King Frederick August I in 1815. The service was completed in 1820 and could be sent to London.

Provenance

Phillips London, November 25, 1999, lot 114.

Literature

Wittwer (ed.), Raffinesse & Eleganz, Munich 2007, no. 133.
The plates in Apsley house published in: Baer/Baer, The Pussian Service. The Duke of Wellington´s Berlin Dinner Service, Berlin 1989, ill. 37.
A further broken und restored piece in the collection of the Cologne museum MAKK, cf. Beaucamp-Markowsky, Porzellan, Cologne 1980, no. 139.

Exhibitions

Raffinesse & Eleganz - Königliche Porzellane des frühen 19. Jahrhunderts aus einer amerikanischen Privatsammlung, 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