A VIENNA STYLE PORCELAIN CABINET PLATE, late 19th...

A VIENNA STYLE PORCELAIN CABINET PLATE, late 19th Century, finely painted to the centre with a portrait of Countess Zofia Potocka-Witt, after the original 18th Century portrait, wearing a blue dress and her hair tied with a matching blue ribbon, signed ‘Kies’ lower-right, the rim with elaborate raised gilt and jewelled decoration on a deep cobalt-blue ground, the reverse titled ‘Potocka’ and ‘D.202.’ in gilt script, 24.3cm diameter, beehive mark in underglaze blue

FOOTNOTES: Zofia Konstantinova Potocka, née Clavone (1760-1822) was a Greek prostitute, slave, spy and eventually a Polish noble as the wife of Stanisław Szczęsny Potocki. She was famous for her dramatic life and love affairs, and renowned as the lover of Grigory Potemkin. The original painting from which this portrait was copied was formerly in the Berlin Museum, but was lost during the Second World War. A pastel copy was sold by Bonhams as the work of Kucharski, and another in Warsaw in 2005 by Salvatore Tonci (1756-1844) which may have been the original.