Pair of Vases with Chinoiseries

Manufacturer Meissen Porcelain Manufactory (German, 1710-present)

Artistattributed to Adam Friedrich von Löwenfinck , (painter) (German, 1714 - 1754)

Place of OriginMeissen, Germany

Dateabout 1735-1738

DimensionsH: 15 in. (38.1 cm)

MediumPorcelain, enamel and gilt decoration

ClassificationCeramics

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Florence Scott Libbey Bequest in Memory of her Father, Maurice A. Scott

Object number

1988.101

Not on View

Collections

Decorative Arts

Published References"Museum Acquisitions," Decorative Arts Society Newsletter, vol. 15, nos. 3 & 4, Fall-Winter 1989-1990, repr. p. 7.

"La chronique des arts," Gazette des Beaux-Arts, vol. 115, no. 1454, March 1990, repr. p. 51.

Label TextThe Chinese-style scenes on these vases are attributed to the famous ceramic decorator Adam Friedrich von Löwenfinck. Considered one of the most skilled painters of porcelain, he is known for fine, delicate lines and masterful control of enamels. The floral panels are painted with “Indian flowers”—a decoration introduced at Meissen in the 1720s that was inspired by the Kakiemon style of Japanese porcelain. Toledo’s vases are marked with the monogram AR (Augustus Rex), which was used for pieces made both for the personal use of and as gifts commissioned by King Augustus II of Poland (1670–1733). Chinese porcelain was prized in Europe from the 1500s, and huge quantities of gold went to China to pay for the desired desirable?wares. Consequently, numerous attempts were made to duplicate the elusive material in Europe. The first European hard-paste, or true, porcelain was developed in Dresden from 1708 by scientist and inventor Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus. In 1709 alchemist Johann Friedrich Böttger discovered the materials required to produce white, translucent, high-fired porcelain. This discovery was to have profound consequences for the entire European ceramic industry.