An early Meissen porcelain teapot with a KPM mark

An early Meissen porcelain teapot with a KPM mark

Bulbous vessel with S-shaped handle and original domed lid. Decorated on both sides with cartouches containing a finely painted merchant navy scene and a landscape with a rare depiction of two bricklayers at work. Underglaze blue K.P.M. mark, 10. in gold (to the teapot and lid). Restored over breakages. H 13.5 cm.
The porcelain after 1723, decor attributed to Christian Friedrich Herold, 1725 - 30.

With this teapot Tono Dreßen acquired a unique object that illustrated his profession. As a building contractor he was fascinated by the depiction of the two craftsmen building a brick wall. In the distance on the left another building can be seen with a high smoking chimney, perhaps the brickworks. The scene, through the serenity of the two men and the wide view into a valley, seems like the allegory of a pacified state where building and cultural life are possible.

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Provenance

Acquired from Sotheby's London, 7th October 1986, lot 269.

Literature

Illus. in cat.: Blütenlese. Meißener Porzellan aus der Sammlung Tono Dreßen, Munich 2018, p. 19, no. 46.