Offered by Franck Baptiste Paris
REQUEST INFORMATION
Rare potpourri tray in Meissen porcelain, Japanese lacquer, and finely chased and mercury-gilded bronze.
The piece consists of two inverted Japanese lacquer teacups, separated by an openwork bronze frieze that serves as the potpourri tray.
The entire piece is mounted on a fluted Neoclassical column and a base on which rest two figures from the Commedia dell'arte: Harlequin and Columbine.
The lacquer is from Japan, Edo period, circa 1700.
The two porcelain figures are from Meissen, during the period of Joachim Kaendler, circa 1750.
The bronze mount is the work of a Parisian merchant, circa 1780.
In very good condition; original gilding.
Dimensions:
Height: 25 cm; Width: 16 cm; Depth: 8 cm
Our potpourri is illustrated in the book "Faszination des Fremden: China, Japan, Europa, Hetjens-Museum – Deutsches Keramikmuseum (ed.), Düsseldorf 2009, p. 190."
It was exhibited at the Hetjens Museum in Düsseldorf as part of this exhibition, from November 1, 2009, to January 24, 2010.
Our opinion:
The potpourri we are presenting represents the quintessence of mounted objects produced under the Ancien Régime.
It combines three of the most precious elements of this era: lacquer, porcelain, and bronze from three different periods.
These precious goods were patiently collected by a prominent merchant and updated with a bold neo-classical mount.
The result is of a rather rare modernity, with a contrast of color and material, between the depth of the lacquer, the brilliance of the gilding and the intensity of the polychromy.
