Meissen Porcelain Trompe l'Oeil Red Cabbage Box and Cover, Marcolini Period
Circa 1774-1814

This Meissen hard-paste porcelain box and cover is modeled as a head of red cabbage lying on its side, the cut stalk forming one end. Overlapping leaves with ruffled edges and raised midribs make up both the body and the cover, and the cut stalk is divided between the two, so that the illusion holds when the box is closed. A single leaf rises from the crown and curls over to form the finial.

The leaves are enameled in pale yellow-green shading into a rich purple, the color laid on in quick, feathered brushstrokes that follow the veining, while the stalk end is left a pale straw yellow and the interior is glazed plain white. At under five inches wide this is a small piece, of a size probably intended for sugar or as an ornament for the dessert table rather than for serving vegetables.

A small and witty piece for a dining table set with other porcelain vegetables, a cabinet of eighteenth-century porcelain, or a side table or bookshelf on its own, where the green and purple read well against neutral or green walls.

Dimensions
Height: 4 inches (10.2 cm)
Width: 43/4 inches (12.1 cm)
Depth: 4 inches (10.2 cm)

Marks
Crossed swords in underglaze blue, with the Marcolini star between the hilts, here painted in abbreviated form as an arrowhead; numbered "78." in the purple enamel of the decoration.

Provenance
With Albert Amor Ltd., London (paper label)
Private West Coast collection

Condition
Good; a tiny frit to the curled leaf finial invisibly restored.

References
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis, Tennessee, Meissen cabbage tureen and cover, circa 1750, accession 88.19 (4 x 91/4 inches), for the larger tureen version of the model.

Historical Context
Meissen's trompe l'oeil tureens and boxes in the form of vegetables, fruit, birds and animals were developed under the modeler Johann Joachim Kandler in the 1740s and were at the height of fashion in the 1750s, when they amused guests at court dining and dessert tables. The models stayed in production long after that. The star between the hilts of the crossed swords was used under Count Camillo Marcolini, director of the manufactory from 1774 to 1814, a period better known for Neoclassical wares, and shows the cabbage still being made and enameled in the last quarter of the century. Albert Amor, established in St James's in 1903 and a founding member of BADA in 1918, has long specialized in eighteenth-century porcelain.

(Ref: NY109490-kmrx)


Condition:
Alterations: Original Condition Unaltered
Imperfections: Some Imperfections
Condition Notes: tiny frit on cover invisibly repaired

Origin:
Germany

Creator:
Brand: Marcolini Meissen

Materials & Techniques:
Porcelain

Details:
What type of item is it? Vintage / Antique / Used
Country of Origin: Germany

Original Condition Unaltered; Some Imperfections; tiny frit on cover invisibly repaired