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Bell
Made at: Meissen Manufactory (Germany)
German
about 1730–35
Object Place: Europe, Germany
Medium/Technique
Hard-paste porcelain with yellow ground, decorated in polychrome enamels and gold
Dimensions
12.7 cm (5 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Rita and Frits Markus
Accession Number1983.219
CollectionsEurope
DescriptionThe thrown bell has a high-domed profile with a flared rim. The upright handle, which was molded in two lengthwise pieces, has three waisted registers, a flaring base, and a rounded end. The bell s painted with a yellow ground with three white quatrefoils reserved at equal intervals. The handle and lower outside rim of the bell are also white. The reserves, which are outlined in puce, are filled with clusters of flowers in the Kakiemon style, painted in sea-green, blue, iron-red, and puce, with black outlines and gilt highlights. Small sprays of similar flowers are painted on the handle. The horizontal ribs on the handle are outlined with gold bands, and the terminus has a gold floret. Above the rim is a thick band of gold. The white interior of the bell, which is undecorated, shows the location of a loop, now broken off, that would have secured the clapper.
Marks
(1) inside, in underglaze blue: crossed swords
ProvenanceCollection of Baroness Renée de Becker, Brussels, New York, Rome. Mr. and Mrs. Deane Johnson, Bel Air, California. December 9, 1972, sale, Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York. By 1983, Rita and Frits Markus; 1983, gift of Rita and Frits Markus to the MFA.