Meissen Imari Plate, Vase Pattern, circa 1740
View Similar Items
Meissen Imari Plate, Vase Pattern, circa 1740
About the Item
- Creator:Meissen Porcelain (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 0.79 in (2 cm)Diameter: 9.45 in (24 cm)
- Style:Chinoiserie (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1740-1749
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1740
- Condition:Very fine condition, hardly any usage evident.
- Seller Location:Geelong, AU
- Reference Number:Seller: 10116571stDibs: LU125022317582
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.
Find a collection of authentic Meissen Porcelain on 1stDibs.
- Meissen Imari Plate, 1740Located in Dresden, DEThe form and décor of the plate is a close copy of the "Brocade" Pattern of Japanese Imari porcelain. Based on a Japanese original, each painted with a bird on a rocky outcropping before a pine tree, the border with cloud-shaped panels of phoenix. A nearly identical example is exhibited in the British Museum in London. For this rare décor sometimes nonsensically the term "Warsaw Servive" is used. The letter „K...Category
Antique Early 18th Century German Baroque Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Early Meissen Partridge Tureen, 1740By Meissen PorcelainLocated in Dresden, DELidded box with naturalistic painting in shades of brown. The finely worked out nesting material in light green. Due to their very decorative character, figurative lidded boxes were ...Category
Antique 17th Century German Baroque Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Meissen ‘Puce Ground’ Porcelain Bowl, C. 1740By Meissen PorcelainLocated in Gargrave, North YorkshireMeissen porcelain bowl, c. 1740. The puce ground bowl, finely painted to the front, with a shaped panel, contains a couple wearing 18th Century costume, seated in a rural landscape. ...Category
Antique 1740s German Georgian Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Meissen - figurine of a Bacchant by Kaendler, 1740By J.J. Kaendler, Meissen PorcelainLocated in DELFT, NLEarly Meissen figurine of a bacchant eating from a grapes, as an allegory of autumn. Model by Joachim Kaendler. unmarked, ca 1740-60.Category
Antique Mid-18th Century German Rococo Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Museal Early Asian Lidded Tureen With Présentoir, Meissen Germany 1740-1780By Meissen PorcelainLocated in Vienna, ATVery exceptional, museal three-part object of the 18th century: Lidded vessel on a six-sided base, widening towards the top and slightly domed at the bottom, on a stepped, low slopin...Category
Antique Mid-18th Century German Chinoiserie Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain, Ceramic
- Meissen Tea Pot with Animal Spout and Flower Decoration Rococo Period circa 1740By Meissen PorcelainLocated in Vienna, ATEarly and rare piece From The Meissen/Germany Manufactory Dating: made circa 1740 Material: white porcelain, glossy finish Technique: handmade porcelain, finest painting Specifications: Very early Meissen tea pot...Category
Antique Early 18th Century German Rococo Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain