Sophie von der Goltz
Head of Sale
Lot 35
A very rare Dutch-decorated early Meissen decagonal porcelain bowl from the Japanese Palace, circa 1720-27
3 July 2025, 14:00 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £21,120 inc. premium
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Raphael Machiels
Associate Specialist
Ghislaine Howard
Sale Coordinator
A very rare Dutch-decorated early Meissen decagonal porcelain bowl from the Japanese Palace, circa 1720-27
Decorated in Holland with Chinoiserie figures alternating with flower sprigs, the interior painted in Kakiemon style with a bird perched on a flowering branch above stylised rockwork and scattered flowers below the brown-edged rim, 21.5cm-21.9cm across; 8.1cm high. incised Japanese Palace inventory mark "N.108./ ☐"
Footnotes
Provenance:
Augustus the Strong (1670-1733), Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, delivered to the Japanese Palace, Dresden, on 24th May 1727 by Landsberger and Kell, and recorded there in 1779
One of two ten-sided bowls delivered on the same day in 1727 and listed in the inventory of the Japanese Palace begun in 1721: "108. 2 Stk. zehnpassigte Spühl Compen mit Pagoden, Vogeln und bunten Blumen, auch braunen Randen, 3 1/2 Z. tief u. 8 3/4 Z. indiam." [108 2 ten-sided rinsing bowls with pagodas, birds and coloured flowers, also brown rims, 3 1/2 Zoll deep and 8 3/4 Zoll in diam].
Both bowls are recorded in the 1779 inventory of the Japanese Palace. The other bowl is no longer in the Dresden collection.
The decoration on this bowl is closely similar to that on two Chinese porcelain dishes delivered to the Japanese Palace in May 1725 - also by Landsberger and Kell - that are now in the British Museum inv. Franks.1445 (published in H. Espir, European Decoration on Oriental Porcelain 1700-1830, 2005, ill. 20).
