PAIR OF BROAD-RIMMED PLATES Winterthur, circa 1675–90.

PAIR OF BROAD-RIMMED PLATES

Winterthur, circa 1675–90.
Faience with pale-gray glaze, painted in high-temperature colors. The center depicting a landscape with a frozen body of water and ice skaters in the background, and three figures before a butchering scene in the left foreground; in the background, a landscape with mountains and water, and figures harvesting grapes in the foreground. Probably allegories of Winter and Autumn, from a series of the seasons. Unmarked.
Ø 33.5 cm; 34 cm.
Autumn: restored.

Provenance:
- Josef Keiser Collection (1827–1890).
- Zug Castle Museum, Keiser Archive, at the Schuler auction in June 2005.
- Peter Ducret Collection, Kilchberg, acquired at the above auction.

Literature:
Rudolf Schnyder, "Die Hafnerwerkstatt Josef Keiser", in KFS, 109/110, 1997, p. 84, Nos. 5.11 and 5.12 (with figs.).

The scenes recall engravings by Conrad Meyer, combining motifs from "9. Herbstmonat" and "10. Weinmonat" for the depiction of Autumn.
The two examples were formerly part of the collection of the Museum Burg Zug (Keiser Archive). In his article, Schnyder discusses Josef Keiser and his potter’s workshop, attributing these plates to the Keiser workshop in Zug and dating them to circa 1910/20. According to Peter Ducret, however, they are Winterthur pieces that Keiser probably used as models for his own production.
Comparison with a Winterthur stove from the "Burghof" (circa 1703–1705), whose frieze tiles depict the twelve months after engravings by Conrad Meyer and Matthäus Merian, supports the attribution to Winterthur (Margrit Früh, "Heimgekehrt: Der Winterthurer Kachelofen aus dem 'Burghof' in Zürich", in: KFS 138/2024, pp. 132–135, figs. 27,1–10 and 28,1–13). The irregular glaze, traces of pinpricks and the characteristic suspension loop further support this attribution.