Vase thumbnail 1
Vase thumbnail 2
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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 145

Vase

ca. 1750 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This rare vase was made at the King of Naples' porcelain factory in about 1750. The King had founded the factory in 1743 within the royal palace of Capodimonte, probably encouraged by his wife Maria Amalia. She was the daughter of Augustus III of Saxony, the patron of the Meissen porcelain factory, and therefore was no doubt keenly aware of the prestige attached to porcelain and its manufacture.

Oriental style decoration had been popularised at Meissen under the direction of the artist J. G. Heröldt. The bold figures on this vase however, are unusually large in scale for European porcelain.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Soft-paste porcelain painted in enamels
Brief description
Vase of soft-paste porcelain of Chinese 'beaker' shape, painted in enamels with Chinoiserie, made at the Capodimonte porcelain factory, Naples, ca. 1750.
Physical description
Vase of soft-paste porcelain of tall Chinese 'beaker' shape, painted in enamels with Chinoiseries, comprising two richly dressed male figures, one seated on an elaborate carved chair, the other in attendance to one side, a large vase of flowers and child to the left, a lady standing arranging flowers in a basket behind, the figures framed by large and exotic blooms and flowering trees.
Style
Marks and inscriptions
fleur de lys mark in blue
Subjects depicted
Summary
This rare vase was made at the King of Naples' porcelain factory in about 1750. The King had founded the factory in 1743 within the royal palace of Capodimonte, probably encouraged by his wife Maria Amalia. She was the daughter of Augustus III of Saxony, the patron of the Meissen porcelain factory, and therefore was no doubt keenly aware of the prestige attached to porcelain and its manufacture.

Oriental style decoration had been popularised at Meissen under the direction of the artist J. G. Heröldt. The bold figures on this vase however, are unusually large in scale for European porcelain.
Bibliographic reference
Caròla-Perrotti, Angela, ed, contributor and curator. Le Porcellane Dei Borbone Di Napoli Naples: Guida Editore, 1986, no. 21, p. 73. Catalogue of the exhibition at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples, December 1986 - April 1987.
Collection
Accession number
C.18-1959

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Record createdMarch 26, 2009
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