A Meissen plate from the "Japanese" dinner service for King Frederick II
A Meissen plate from the "Japanese" dinner service for King Frederick II
Decorated with a turtle-like animal on an island to the center. Blue crossed swords mark, impressed number 56. Restored chip to the rim between 4 and 5 o'clock, minor wear to the glaze. D 24.4 cm.
1762/63, modelled by Johann Joachim Kaendler.
Even whilst the Seven Years' War was still ongoing, the Prussian King Friedrich II sought out the Meissen model maker Johann Joachim Kaendler personally to discuss his wish for a service after his own designs. In 1961, Otto Walcha published an archived note from Kaendler referencing the Japanese service. The note states that Friedrich II presented him with a French silver plate as a model and provided detailed instructions for the décor: "With regards to the painting, the borders of the service should be painted with yellow mosaic, the inner rim with a fine blue, slightly paler than usual, so that the yellow stands out more. His royal majesty requests that each bowl and plate be painted with an Indian animal or bird in fine proportions; camels, elephants, rhinoceros, panthers, baboons, monkeys, ostrich, cassowaries, various parrots and other Indian animals and birds (...)". The note was countersigned by Friedrich II. This "most bizarre" of all services, intended for the Chinese House in the park of Sanssouci Palace, was completed in 1764. It originally comprised of 96 dinner plates, 72 dessert plates, four tureens and dozens of serving dishes. It is not known how many of these pieces were completed prior to the Peace of Hubertusburg. Today, dishes and plates from the service can be found scattered throughout numerous museums and collections, with some only surviving in fragments. Many pieces of the service are still owned by the Prussian Palace and Garden Foundation (Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten).
Literature
Cf. cat. Königliche Eleganz Preußische Pracht, 250 Jahre Königliche Porzellanmanufaktur Berlin KPM, Düsseldorf 2013, no. 6.
Cf. Walcha, Friedrich II. letzte bedeutende Porzellanbestellung in Meißen, in: Keramos 12/1961, p. 31 ff.
Cf. Beaucamp-Markowsky, Rhinozeros und Panter-Tier. Eine wieder aufgefundene Terrine aus dem Meißener "Japanischen Service" Friedrichs des Großen. Erich Köllmann zum 75. Geburtstag, in: Keramos 94/1981, p. 17 ff.
The pieces in Charlottenburg palace have been published several times, incl. Wittwer, "hat der König von Preußen die schleunige Verferttigung verschiedener Bestellungen ernstlich begehret" - Friedrich der Große und das Meißener Porzellan, Keramos 208 / 2010, p. 64 - 66.
Cf. cat.: Triumph der blauen Schwerter, Leipzig 2010, p. 295 f., no. 299.
S.a. Lempertz Berlin auction 1169 on 24 April 2021, lot 1, a further dinner plate from this service, formerly the Erich von Goldschmidt-Rothschild Collection, sold Christie's Geneva on 9 May 1988, lot 164, then the Renate and Tono Dreßen Collection.
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A Meissen plate from the "Japanese" dinner service for King Frederick II
Decorated with a turtle-like animal on an island to the center. Blue crossed swords mark, impressed number 56. Restored chip to the rim between 4 and 5 o'clock, minor wear to the glaze. D 24.4 cm.
1762/63, modelled by Johann Joachim Kaendler.
Even whilst the Seven Years' War was still ongoing, the Prussian King Friedrich II sought out the Meissen model maker Johann Joachim Kaendler personally to discuss his wish for a service after his own designs. In 1961, Otto Walcha published an archived note from Kaendler referencing the Japanese service. The note states that Friedrich II presented him with a French silver plate as a model and provided detailed instructions for the décor: "With regards to the painting, the borders of the service should be painted with yellow mosaic, the inner rim with a fine blue, slightly paler than usual, so that the yellow stands out more. His royal majesty requests that each bowl and plate be painted with an Indian animal or bird in fine proportions; camels, elephants, rhinoceros, panthers, baboons, monkeys, ostrich, cassowaries, various parrots and other Indian animals and birds (...)". The note was countersigned by Friedrich II. This "most bizarre" of all services, intended for the Chinese House in the park of Sanssouci Palace, was completed in 1764. It originally comprised of 96 dinner plates, 72 dessert plates, four tureens and dozens of serving dishes. It is not known how many of these pieces were completed prior to the Peace of Hubertusburg. Today, dishes and plates from the service can be found scattered throughout numerous museums and collections, with some only surviving in fragments. Many pieces of the service are still owned by the Prussian Palace and Garden Foundation (Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten).
Literature
Cf. cat. Königliche Eleganz Preußische Pracht, 250 Jahre Königliche Porzellanmanufaktur Berlin KPM, Düsseldorf 2013, no. 6.
Cf. Walcha, Friedrich II. letzte bedeutende Porzellanbestellung in Meißen, in: Keramos 12/1961, p. 31 ff.
Cf. Beaucamp-Markowsky, Rhinozeros und Panter-Tier. Eine wieder aufgefundene Terrine aus dem Meißener "Japanischen Service" Friedrichs des Großen. Erich Köllmann zum 75. Geburtstag, in: Keramos 94/1981, p. 17 ff.
The pieces in Charlottenburg palace have been published several times, incl. Wittwer, "hat der König von Preußen die schleunige Verferttigung verschiedener Bestellungen ernstlich begehret" - Friedrich der Große und das Meißener Porzellan, Keramos 208 / 2010, p. 64 - 66.
Cf. cat.: Triumph der blauen Schwerter, Leipzig 2010, p. 295 f., no. 299.
S.a. Lempertz Berlin auction 1169 on 24 April 2021, lot 1, a further dinner plate from this service, formerly the Erich von Goldschmidt-Rothschild Collection, sold Christie's Geneva on 9 May 1988, lot 164, then the Renate and Tono Dreßen Collection.
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Estimate
Time, Location
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