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19th C. Meissen Porcelain Rococo Musician's Clock & Candelabra Garniture Set

Name: 19th C. Meissen Porcelain Rococo Musician's Clock & Candelabra Garniture Set
Brand: Meissen Porcelain
Price: 83654.58 AUD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.9 (15 reviews)

About the Item

An impressive and rare 19th century Meissen Porcelain Musicians clock and Candelabra Garniture set. Comprised of three individual pieces, which include a gorgeous clock and two matching candelabras. The clock is impressive, with applied rococo porcelain flowers, leaves, and vines. On the finial of the clock are two young sheep farmers, the boy is seen playing the flute while the girl is seen tending to the sheep. On the bottom of the clock are four noble men and woman. In the foreground are two lovers in Watteau scene dancing. On either side of them are a noble man and noble woman both playing instruments. The man is playing some sort of a flute, while the woman is playing a guitar. The clock is further embellished with 24K gilt decoration and highlights. The clock face is hand-enameled with white enamel and gilt decoration with gilt roman numerals. The large seven arm candelabras are also impressive, with garlands of flowers and fruits wrapped around each arm. The bobeche's are hand-painted with leaf-like designs in pink and blue pastel colors. The square bases are fabulous each with multiple figures of musicians, the motif of this garniture. The backs of the candelabras are highly decorated with porcelain fruits, vines, flowers and leaves, all hand-painted and beautifully decorated. The bottoms of each of the pieces are marked with blue crossed swords marks. Germany, Circa: 1800's Clock dimensions: Height: 25 in. Width: 12 in. Depth: 8.5 in. Candelabra dimensions: Height: 23.5 in. Width: 11 in. Depth: 11 in.

Creator:
Meissen Porcelain (Maker)
Dimensions:
Height: 25 in (63.5 cm)Width: 12 in (30.48 cm)Depth: 8.5 in (21.59 cm)
Sold As:
Set of 3
Style:
Rococo (In the Style Of)
Materials and Techniques:
Porcelain,Gilt,Hand-Carved,Hand-Painted
Place of Origin:
Germany
Period:
19th Century
Date of Manufacture:
19th Century
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
New York, NY
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU919540909042

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Meissen Porcelain

Meissen Porcelain (Staatliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Meissen) is one of the preeminent porcelain factories in Europe and was the first to produce true porcelain outside of Asia. It was established in 1710 under the auspices of King Augustus II “the Strong” of Saxony-Poland (1670–1733), a keen collector of Asian ceramics, particularly Ming porcelain.

In pursuing his passion, which he termed his “maladie de porcelaine,” Augustus spent vast sums, amassing some 20,000 pieces of Japanese and Chinese ceramics. These, along with examples of early Meissen, comprise the Porzellansammlung, or porcelain collection, of the Zwinger Palace, in Dresden.

The king was determined, however, to free the European market from its dependence on Asian imports and to give European artisans the freedom to create their own porcelain designs. To this end, he charged the scientist Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus and aspiring alchemist Johann Friedrich Böttger with the task of using local materials to produce true, hard-paste porcelain (as opposed to the soft-paste variety European ceramists in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy and Spain had been producing since the late Renaissance). In 1709, the pair succeeded in doing just that, employing kaolin, or “china clay.” A year later, the Meissen factory was born.

In its first decades, Meissen mostly looked to Asian models, producing wares based on Japanese Kakiemon ceramics and pieces with Chinese-inflected decorations called chinoiserie. During the 1720s its painters drew inspiration from the works of Watteau, and the scenes of courtly life, fruits and flowers that adorned fashionable textiles and wallpaper. It was in this period that Meissen introduced its famous cobalt-blue crossed swords logo — derived from the arms of the Elector of Saxony as Arch-Marshal of the Holy Roman Empire — to distinguish its products from those of competing factories that were beginning to spring up around Europe.

By the 1730s, Meissen’s modelers and decorators had mastered the style of Asian ceramics, and Augustus encouraged them to develop a new, original aesthetic. The factory’s director, Count Heinrich von Brühl, used Johann Wilhelm Weinmann’s botanical drawings as the basis for a new line of wares with European-style surface decoration. The Blue Onion pattern (Zwiebelmuster), first produced in 1739, melded Asian and European influences, closely following patterns used in Chinese underglaze-blue porcelain, but replacing exotic flora and fruits with Western varieties (likely peaches and pomegranates, not onions) along with peonies and asters.

During the same period, head modeler Joachim Kändler (1706–75) began crafting delicate porcelain figures derived from the Italian commedia dell’arte. Often used as centerpieces on banquet tables and decorated to reflect the latest fashions in courtly dress for men and women, these figurines were popular in their day, and are still considered among Meissen’s most iconic creations. Kändler also created the Swan Service, which, with its complex low-relief surface design and minimal decoration is considered a masterpiece of Baroque ceramics.

The rise of Neoclassicism in the latter half of the 18th century forced Meissen to change artistic direction and begin producing monumental vases, clocks, chandeliers and candelabra. In the 20th century, Meissen added to its 18th-century repertoire decidedly modern designs, including ones in the Art Nouveau style. The 1920s saw the introduction of numerous animal figures, such as the popular sea otter (Fischotter), which graced an East German postage stamp in the 1960s. Starting in 1933, artistic freedom was limited at the factory under the Nazi regime, and after World War II, when the region became part of East Germany, it struggled to reconcile its elite past with the values of the Communist government. In 1969, however, new artistic director Karl Petermann reintroduced the early designs and fostered a new degree of artistic license. Meissen became one of the few companies to prosper in East Germany.

Owned by the State of Saxony since reunification, in 1990, Meissen continues to produce its classic designs together with new ones developed collaboratively with artists from all over the world. In addition, through its artCAMPUS program, the factory has invited distinguished ceramic artists, such as Chris Antemann and Arlene Shechet, to work in its studios in collaboration with its skilled modelers and painters. The resulting works of contemporary sculpture are inspired by Meissen’s rich and complex legacy.

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