Soup plate
- Place of origin:
- Date:
- Artist/Maker:
Meissen porcelain factory (manufacturer)
- Materials and Techniques:
Hard-paste porcelain, enamelled and gilded
- Museum number:
- Gallery location:
Europe & America 1800-1900, room 101, case 1
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In 1708 a method of producing porcelain was discovered in Germany and, under noble patronage, a porcelain factory was established at Meissen near Dresden. The Meissen factory specialised in producing high quality tableware. In particular, they made pieces associated with the ‘exotic’ new food and drink stuffs entering Europe from Asia, the Americas and West Indies, which increasingly graced the tables of fashionable and wealthy homes.
This plate was made towards the end of the period (1774-1814) when the Italian born Camillo Marcolini was director of the Meissen factory and attempting to restore its fortunes, which had declined during and after the Seven Years' War (1756-1763). The decoration is in the Egyptian classical style, with a canopic (burial) vase in the centre, against a 'lapis-lazuli' ground copied from Sèvres porcelain, and classical amphorae and ewers against the solid blue ground of the border, reminiscent of Roman wall-painting. In the late-18th and early-19th centuries increased travel and exploration during the Napoleonic Wars and archaeological discoveries, at sites such as Pompeii and Herculaneum in Italy, led to a revival of interest in ancient and classical decoration.
Physical description
The decoration is in the Egyptian classical style, with a canopic (burial) vase in the centre, against a 'lapis-lazuli' ground copied from Sèvres, and classical amphorae and ewers against the solid blue ground of the border, reminiscent of Roman wall-painting.
Place of Origin
Meissen, Germany (made)
Date
ca. 1800-1810 (made)
Artist/maker
Meissen porcelain factory (manufacturer)
Materials and Techniques
Hard-paste porcelain, enamelled and gilded
Marks and inscriptions
Factory mark, in blue - crossed swords with a star
Impressed marks - '31', '4' and 'B'
Dimensions
Diameter: 22.8 cm
Object history note
Formerly in the collection of the British politician and collector Ralph Bernal (c.1783 - 1854). This plate was bought by the South Kensington Museum from the Bernal Sale at Christie's 5 March - 30 April 1855.
Descriptive line
Soup plate; Germany (Meissen); made by the Meissen porcelain factory; decorated in Egyptian classical style; ca. 1800-1810
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
The Age of Neo-classicism : the fourteenth exhibition of the Council of Europe : the Royal Academy and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 9 September-19 November 1972.
Exhibition History
The Age of Neo-Classicism (Victoria and Albert Museum 09/09/1972-19/11/1972)
Labels and date
'American and European Art and Design 1800-1900'
Formerly in the Bernal Collection, this plate was made during the period (1774-1814) when the Italian born Camillo Marcolini was director of the Meissen factory and attempting to restore its fortunes, which had declined during and after the Seven Years' War (1756-1763). The decoration is in the Egyptian classical style, with a canopic (burial) vase in the centre, against a 'lapis-lazuli' ground copied from Sèvres, and classical amphorae and ewers against the solid blue ground of the border, reminiscent of Roman wall-painting. [1987-2006]
Materials
Hard paste porcelain
Techniques
Gilded; Enamelled
Subjects depicted
Vases; Ewers
Categories
Porcelain; Ceramics
Collection code
CER
