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Tankard
German
about 1725
Medium/Technique
Hard-paste porcelain decorated in underglaze blue, luster, colored enamels, and gilded decoration
Dimensions
Overall: 19.4 x 15.1 x 10.2 cm (7 5/8 x 5 15/16 x 4 in.)
Other (at base): 10.9cm (4 5/16in.)
Other (Without cover): 16.4cm (6 7/16in.)
Other (at base): 10.9cm (4 5/16in.)
Other (Without cover): 16.4cm (6 7/16in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Rita and Frits Markus
Accession Number1980.615
CollectionsEurope
During the 1720s Höroldt created the fashion at Meissen for imaginative and whimsical scenes of Chinese life. Höroldt provided the painters working under his direction with a pattern book containing more than a thousand sketches of Chinese-style motifs for them to copy or adapt.
DescriptionThe cylindrical tankard has an ear-shaped handle and a tall, recessed mouth rim over which the silver-gilt cover his. A shield-shaped panel outlined in gold, opposite the handle, fills almost the entire height of the tankard; it is further elaborated with areas of Böttger luster within gold scrolls and intricate scrolling in iron-red. The chinoiserie scene in the panel shows, in the center, a dignitary descending from a hand-pushed carriage to be greeted by two figures and two small barking dogs. On the left of the scene are two men, one of whom pushes the carriage, while the other brings a tray laden with vessels. On the right are three -figures gathered around a table on which a naked child is sitting. All the adult figures are elaborately dressed in patterned robes, most of which are trimmed in gold. The robes are variously painted in shades of puce, iron-red, and black. Behind the figures is a tall structure supported on two yellow columns with one trellised side and a blue and gold diamond patterned roof. Immediately to the left is a wall that supports a large vase filled with iron-red flowers and green foliage. A red bird rests on the rim of the vase, and a peacock sits near the base. Nearby is a tall tree with drooping foliage in puce, iron-red, and brown and iron-red fruit. The sky is filled with clouds in blue with traces of orange. The grass of the foreground is a vivid green. Near the handle are painted two large sprays of flowers (indianische Blumen) in puce, iron-red, and yellow with green leaves and two birds and three flying insects in the same palette. A similar spray of Rowers decorates the handle. Two birds painted in puce, iron-red, yellow, and gold fly above the terminations of the iron-red scrollwork that encloses the chinoiserie scene. The top and bottom of the tankard are each encircled by two underglaze-blue lines and a gilt band. The domed silver-gilt cover is decorated with a wide band of chased strapwork on a mat ground and three applied medallions with classical heads in profile. The center of the cover is raised and is decorated with a chased foliate motif and a boss in the form of an opening flower bud. The molded silver-gilt foot rim has a chased dentil rim band above a band with alternating striped and matted grounds. The thumbpiece is in the form of' a baroque cartouche, chased and pierced.
Marks
On silver-gilt cover, struck: year mark "A" for 1726, city mark for Dresden, unidentified maker's mark TOS (?)
Provenance1931, Erich von Goldschmidt-Rothschild (b. 1894 - d. 1987), Berlin; March 23–25, 1931, Goldschmidt-Rothschild sale, Ball-Graupe, Berlin, lot 598. By 1980, Rita and Frits Markus, Chatham, MA and New York; 1980, gift of Rita and Frits Markus to the MFA. (Accession Date: January 14, 1981)