Late 18th Century Meissen Vase Table Lamps from the Estate of Doris Day
View Similar Items
Late 18th Century Meissen Vase Table Lamps from the Estate of Doris Day
About the Item
- Creator:Meissen Porcelain (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 20 in (50.8 cm)Diameter: 6 in (15.24 cm)
- Power Source:Plug-in
- Voltage:110-150v
- Style:Late Victorian (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1899
- Condition:Rewired. Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses.
- Seller Location:Denver, CO
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU7910234279112
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.
- Vintage Mid 20th Century Murano Millefiori Table LampBy SegusoLocated in Denver, COThis classic vintage Millefiori conical shape table lamp base features gold flecks, aventurine ribbons, and an array of colorful art glass. The proc...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
$1,760 Sale Price20% Off - Mid 20th Century Green & Gold Murano Table LampBy SegusoLocated in Denver, COA beautiful vintage Murano swirl form lamp base featuring electric green and classic Murano gold fleck detail. This piece is so alive with a fluid mixture of green and gold. It has ...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
$2,240 Sale Price20% Off - Early 20th Century Cast Decorative Bronze and Faux Marble Table LampsLocated in Denver, COAn exceptional pair of gilt cast bronze pomegranate shapes nestled in acanthus leaf cups mounted to faux marble pedestals ending in square faux marble basses. Decorative applied rose...Category
Early 20th Century American Belle Époque Table Lamps
MaterialsBronze
$2,240 Sale Price / set20% Off - Artisanal Wood Table LampLocated in Denver, COAn unusual artisan made wood table lamp, carved out of one piece of wood. The maker painstakingly carved thru the wood creating two distinct twists tha...Category
Early 20th Century American Table Lamps
MaterialsWood
- 1920's Celadon Porcelain Table LampLocated in Denver, COA handsome celadon glaze porcelain table lamp refreshed with an acrylic base. Brass ring detail is part of the original lamp base. Black shield lamp shade...Category
Vintage 1920s American Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- 1960s Tole Floral Basket Table LampLocated in Denver, COA charming colorful tole floral basket table lamp. Made in the 1960s. The white painted basket off sets the greens, oranges, reds and yellows withing the tole floral bouquet. We have...Category
Vintage 1960s American Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Meissen Table Lamp from the 1920sBy Meissen PorcelainLocated in Vienna, ATPorcelain base with red dragon painting fitted with three E27 socket. Made by Meissen in Gemany between 1924 and 1934 (acc. to Meissen). Very good...Category
Vintage 1920s German Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
$2,392 Sale Price60% Off - Pair 19th Century pierced Meissen vases / lampsBy Meissen PorcelainLocated in Brighton, SussexA good quality pair of 19th Century Meissen porcelain pierced, flower encrusted porcelain vases / lamps. Having blue crossed swords to the base. Batch 73 TUKZNCategory
Antique 19th Century German Table Lamps
MaterialsPorcelain
- Late 18th Century French Metal LampBy Maison de L'AluminiumLocated in Copenhagen, KConverted oil lamp from "Maison de Laluminium" in Paris. Very nice ornamented bronze, brass and metal lamp.Category
Antique Early 19th Century French Directoire Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass, Bronze, Metal
- 19th Century Meissen Porcelain Rococo Style Candlestick Table LampBy Meissen PorcelainLocated in Forney, TXA stunning antique, circa 1880s, Dresden porcelain figural flower encrusted candlestick - candelabra mounted as a lamp. Exquisitely handmade and painted in Germany in the late 19th century, developed by Ernst August Leuteritz, the very finest of quality, exceptionally executed in the decadent opulence and sophisticated elegance that is Meissen Rococo taste, featuring sculptural seated putti holding fruit and flower motif, having an architecturally articulated shaped baluster shaft, tripartite base rising on high volute C-scroll feet, elaborately decorated in the most intricate floral and fiolate applied and relief decoration in rich polychome and brilliant gold leaf gilt accents. Early 20th century and later light fixture elements, professionally electrified and fashioned as a large luminaire table lamp. The candlestick drilled, standard mounted with adjustable two light post, topped with removable rod retaining remnants of original paint finish with distressed chippy paint patina, surmounted with matching ornate porcelain flower bouquet...Category
Antique 19th Century German Rococo Table Lamps
MaterialsPorcelain
- 18th Century Porcelain Vase Turned LampLocated in Newport Beach, CAA vibrant, hand painted and glazed, Louis XIV style, French porcelain vase with brilliant, gilt bronze mounts. During the 19th c. the piece was made into a gas lamp but is now wired ...Category
Antique 1760s French Table Lamps
MaterialsBronze
- Pair of Late 18th Century Brown Painted Batavia Trumpet Vases ‘Could Be Lamps’Located in London, by appointment onlyThese trumpet vases are European and were made to copy Chinese porcelain vases being exported to Europe from China. This pattern is known as Batavia and is characteristic with th...Category
Antique Late 18th Century German Louis XVI Vases
MaterialsCeramic, Pottery