A Meissen circular tureen and cover 'Gelber Löwe' service for the Dresden Court, circa 1734, together with a circular dish, circa 1744

Footnotes

Provenance:
The tureen and cover:
Delivered to the Japanese Palace, Dresden, between August and December 1734;
Given in January 1737 (as part of a service) by Augustus III to Thomas Robinson, later 1st Baron Grantham (ca. 1695-1770), British ambassador to the Imperial Court in Vienna

The circular stand:
Saxon Royal Court Pantry, Dresden/Warsaw

See footnote to preceding lot for the origins of the 'Gelber Löwe' service and its use at the courts in Dresden and Warsaw.

The inventories of the Dresden and Warsaw court pantries (Hofkonditorei) record that 25 dishes of this size (14 zoll) were delivered from the Dresden warehouse in 1744 to Dresden, and 24 (marked 'K.H.C.') were delivered to Warsaw in March 1746 and another 11 in December (see J. Weber, Meißener Porzellane mit Dekoren nach ostasiatischen Vorbilden (2013), I, pp. 157ff.).

The Gift to "Herrn Lord von Robinson"
The gift of a service of Meissen porcelain by Augustus III to Thomas Robinson - only the second verifiable gift of Meissen porcelain to a British diplomat - was ordered by Count Sulkowsky on 14 January 1737, just four days before Robinson departed Dresden. The urgency (and importance) of the gift is reflected by the fact that it was drawn from the Saxon royal collection in the Japanese Palace. Claus Boltz has published details of the gift (C. Boltz, Ein Porzellangeschenck für Lord Robinson, in Keramos 146 (1994), pp. 9-12), including the inventory numbers of the chosen pieces. Although the number on the present lot (N=159-/W) is missing from the surviving 1770 inventory, Boltz has correlated the delivery list of 1734 from the Dresden warehouse to the Japanese Palace with the surviving 1770 inventory and the 1737 list of pieces for Robinson. This proves that only two tureens of this size were delivered in 1734 and that both (listed in the inventory under 159) were removed from the Japanese Palace in 1737 to form part of the gift to Robinson. The gift also included 15 dishes of various sizes, five dozen plates, three dozen knife handles, three large lobed bowls, four octagonal bowls, two ice pots and a tureen with dragon handle.

An official account of Robinson's visit quoted by Boltz (pp. 11-12) notes that the ambassador arrived in Dresden on the 8th January, had an audience with Augustus III on the 10th, as well as subsequent audiences with the Queen and Crown Prince and other members of the Saxon Royal family. He had his farewell audience with Augustus III on the morning of the 17th January, and - along with the Papal Nuntio, the Dutch envoy and other high-ranking guests - dined with the king to celebrate his coronation day. The following day, he departed for Hannover and England, assuring his hosts of his satisfaction with his visit and that he was delighted with his gift of porcelain of a type that was otherwise reserved for the king's use (p. 12). See also M. Chilton, Dogs and Diplomats, in M. Cassidy-Geiger (ed.), Fragile Diplomacy (2008), pp. 277-78).