Meissen Hand Painted Porcelain Set of Six Cabinet Plates
View Similar Items
Meissen Hand Painted Porcelain Set of Six Cabinet Plates
About the Item
- Creator:Meissen Porcelain (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 1.5 in (3.81 cm)Width: 9.5 in (24.13 cm)Depth: 9.5 in (24.13 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 6
- Style:Rococo (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1890s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Guaynabo, PR
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU5431227332712
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.
- Set of Meissen Hand Painted Porcelain Scalloped Bowl/PlateBy Meissen PorcelainLocated in Guaynabo, PRThis is a set of Meissen hand painted porcelain bowl/plate. It depicts in the center a couple of cherubs holding a garland of flowers and also a wreath of green leaves while they are...Category
Early 20th Century German Rococo Decorative Bowls
MaterialsPorcelain
- Czechoslovakian Pair of Bronze Hand Painted Porcelain PlatesBy CarlsbadLocated in Guaynabo, PRThis is a pair of Czechoslovakian bronze hand painted porcelain plates. It depicts a bronze mounted plates hand painted with scenes of a ...Category
Early 20th Century Czech Victorian Decorative Art
MaterialsBronze
- Chateau de Tuileries Sevres Style Hand Painted Cabinet PlateBy Chateau des TuileriesLocated in Guaynabo, PRThis is a Chateau de Tuileries Sevres Style hand painted cabinet porcelain plate. It depicts a pastoral scene of a courting couple in the center with a gilt cobalt blue circular rim....Category
Antique 19th Century French Rococo Decorative Art
MaterialsPorcelain
- Pair of Japanese Hand Painted MCI Porcelain Wall PlatesLocated in Guaynabo, PRThis is a pair of Japanese hand painted MCI Porcelain wall plates. They are octagonal shaped and painted in blue, red and pink colors in a white b...Category
20th Century Japanese Japonisme Decorative Art
MaterialsPorcelain
- Meissen Hand Painted Porcelain Figurine Of A Middle East LadyBy Meissen PorcelainLocated in Guaynabo, PRA Meissen Porcelain figurine of a Middle East lady. It depicts a lady dressed with a white and pink robed garb. She is wearing a Middle East headdress painted green and turquoise col...Category
Antique Early 19th Century German Other Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Meissen Hand Painted Porcelain Figurine Of A Greek Mythology’s MuseBy Meissen PorcelainLocated in Guaynabo, PRA Meissen Porcelain Greek Mythology’s Muse figurine playing the Lute. She can be Erato, the muse of lyric poetry, particularly erotic poetry and mimic imitation. It depicts a lady dr...Category
Early 20th Century German Neoclassical Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Antique Meissen Porcelain Plaque after CorreggioBy Meissen PorcelainLocated in London, GBAntique Meissen porcelain plaque after Correggio German, 19th Century Measures: Frame: Height 43cm, width 50cm, depth 10cm Plaque: Height ...Category
Antique 19th Century German Renaissance Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain, Giltwood
- Berlin Painted and Parcel Gilt Porcelain Cabinet PlateLocated in West Palm Beach, FLBerlin Painted and Parcel Gilt Porcelain Cabinet Plate The underside marked with an underglaze blue beehive and titled. The recess decorated with a mythological scene with Adonis a...Category
20th Century Decorative Art
MaterialsCeramic
- Berlin Painted and Parcel; Gilt Porcelain Cabinet PlateLocated in West Palm Beach, FLBerlin Painted and Parcel; Gilt Porcelain Cabinet Plate The underside with a beehive in underglaze blue, numbered in red 13212. Depicting the biblical Ruth, within a wide border of ...Category
20th Century Decorative Art
MaterialsCeramic
- Antique pair of Orientalist painted porcelain platesBy Montereau PotteryLocated in London, GBAntique pair of Orientalist painted porcelain plates French, 19th Century Height 5cm, diameter 35.5cm The pair of plates are finely painted, one depicting two Arabic men on horsebac...Category
Antique 19th Century French Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Set of Six 1940s Disney Print PlatesBy Disney StudiosLocated in Los Angeles, CASteel printmaking plates from various Disney pictures. Beautiful trace remnants of original ink gives these plates a painterly appeal. Fabulous displayed as a collection or individua...Category
Vintage 1940s American Historical Memorabilia
MaterialsSteel
$3,500 / set - Set of Six Early 20th Century Hand Painted Catalan TilesLocated in Barcelona, BarcelonaSet of early 20th century hand painted Catalan tiles. By Unknown artist and Manufacturer. In original condition, with minor wear consistent of age and...Category
Early 20th Century Spanish Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art
MaterialsCeramic