A fine and Important Meissen part dessert service made for a Franconian Noble family circa 1767-69

each piece painted in underglaze-blue, iron-red and gilding, with a scroll-painting unrfurling from the top and depicting a bird perched on a flowering peony branch, all set against a background of stylized, scrolling leaves in underglaze-blue and gilt flowers picked out in iron-red, the silver-gilt cutlery with matching porcelain handles, comprising;
fifty-four dessert plates ( 22cm.),
one bowl (23.5cm.),
thirty Augsburg silver-gilt mounted knives,
thirty Augsburg silver-gilt mounted forks,
thirty Augsburg silver-gilt mounted spoons,
together with two similarly decorated Chinese Imari dishes ( 27.3 and 35cm.)






 



 

This remarkable dessert service was commissioned in the mid 1760s by a Franconian nobleman to complement his Chinese dinner service dating from the early 18th Century. It remained in the family castle from the time of its delivery until it was acquired  by the present owner direct from the family.
 

- plates: three plates with chips to rim, otherwise all plates in very good condition with minor wears only -Meissen bowl: one chip -the cutlery: fifiteen knives, forks and spoons with hair cracks, cleaned and secured, not sprayed- -large Chinese dish: several minor chips to rim -small Chinese dish: several minor chips to rim
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Meissen decoration of this type, based on a Chinese Imari original, is traditionally associated with factory production between 1730-40.The Royal Collection in the Porzellansammlung in Dresden owns several Chinese plates with this scroll pattern but only one matching Meissen plate from c. 1730. This could suggest that the Dresden Court had an entire Chinese dinner service and that Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and Poland, had intended to have this Chinese service copied by his porcelain factory in Meissen. The Museum für Kunsthandwerk in Cologne retains one misfired Meissen example. See Barbara Beaucamp-Markowsky, Porzellan, A Catalogue of the Kunstgewerbemuseum, Cologne, 1980, p.141, no 78 for a plate with a trial pattern in blue and white, also with the mark of the painter `t' found on those in the present service.