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Centerpiece and Stand with Pair of Sugar Casters

A work made of hard-paste porcelain, polychrome enamels, gilding, and gilt bronze mounts.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of hard-paste porcelain, polychrome enamels, gilding, and gilt bronze mounts.

Date:

1737

Artist:

Meissen Porcelain Manufactory
Germany, founded 1710
Modeled by Johann Joachim Kändler
German, 1706-1775

About this artwork

Typifying the splendor of the Saxon court at Dresden during the eighteenth century, this porcelain centerpiece would have been part of an elaborate dinner service that graced ceremonial court banquet tables. Remarkable for its large size and luxurious decoration, the service was designed for Count Heinrich von Brühl, who was both administrator of the Royal Saxon Porcelain Manufactory at Meissen and prime minister to Augustus III (r. 1733–63), elector of Saxony and king of Poland. The centerpiece consists of a large, flat plateau made in sections fitted together to support a tall, four-legged, open basket decorated with fanciful roosters and Chinese figures. At either end of the plateau are sugar casters in the form of Chinese figures embracing under a canopy. Established in 1710, the Meissen factory dominated porcelain production in Europe until the mid-eighteenth century and continues to operate to this day.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Applied Arts of Europe

Artist

Meissen Porcelain Manufactory (Manufacturer)

Title

Centerpiece and Stand with Pair of Sugar Casters

Place

Meissen (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1737

Medium

Hard-paste porcelain, polychrome enamels, gilding, and gilt bronze mounts

Dimensions

Bowl: 28.5 × 42.9 × 26.7 cm (11 3/16 × 16 7/8 × 10 1/2 in.); Stand: 15.3 × 66.1 × 51.5 cm (6 × 26 × 20 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Atlan Ceramic Club, Buckingham Lustre and Decorative Arts Purchase funds

Reference Number

1958.405a-f

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/86395/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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