Sebastian Kuhn
Department Director
Lot 97
A rare pair of Meissen circular tureens and covers, circa 1742
14 June 2017, 14:00 BST
London, New Bond Street£4,000 - £6,000
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Nette Megens
Head of Department, Director
Sophie von der Goltz
Head of Sale
A rare pair of Meissen circular tureens and covers, circa 1742
Modelled by J.F. Eberlein, painted with the 'Schmetterling' pattern of butterflies perched on flowering branches and further scattered flower-sprigs, applied with boar's head handles and a pomegranate finial, brown-edged rims, 30cm across handles; 17.5cm high, crossed swords marks in underglaze-blue, impressed numerals (restored) (4)
Footnotes
The 'Schmetterling' or butterfly pattern, a mixture of Chinese Famille verte and Japanese porcelain motifs, appears to date from the early 1730s onwards, though this tureen form was only modelled by J.F. Eberlein in June 1742. Some pieces of the service are marked 'K.H.C.' (for 'Königliche Hof-Conditorey', the Saxon/Polish Royal Court Pantry), though it is not certain whether the pattern was produced exclusively for the use of the Saxon court. The inventory of the Royal hunting palace at Hubertsburg includes an entire service 'mit dem Papillon gemahlet' [painted with a butterfly] (see J. Weber, Meißener Porzellane mit Dekoren nach ostasiatischen Vorbildern (2013), II, p. 344). A similar tureen and cover is in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (inv. no. C.596&A-1925), another in a private collection is illustrated in A. d'Agliano/L. Melegati (eds.), I Fragili Lussi (2001), no. 54.
