Wallendorf Porcelain Table Centerpiece, Mid-18th Century

Description :
Porcelain painted .

This group forming a centrepiece represents a sort of symbolized mountain on which are characters. At the top there is a gallant scene with a man and a woman and a bird at their feet, halfway up two characters hold the ends of a large garland of flowers and in the lower part a woman holds out a flower.
On the back a spaniel comes down and a seated man holds in his hands a bird's nest and a turtledove.
In fact, this group is the symbol of a romantic encounter celebrated by the bearers of garlands and flowers and on the back the birdcatcher who plunders the nests represents the lover (the cuckoo!).
It was placed in the center of a table as a decoration, an aesthetic practice dating back a very long time; there were for example the automatons under the Renaissance or the miniature monuments in which Guiseppe Valadier excelled.
Moreover its uniqueness indicates a commissioned work, for a wedding or an engagement. The quality of the characters is excellent with always different clothing decorations decorated with knots of all colors (reported and not in the material), there is an "infinity" of flowers, in bouquets, in garlands, in baskets or scattered on the grass. The especially is marked on the side of the terrace and this acronym corresponds to the period from the beginning of this factory in 1764 until around 1780. The Wallendorf factory opened in 1764 a few decades after that of Meissen. Its mark resembles that of Meissen because there was competition between the two.
This very important piece (10 kilos) is a technical feat regardless of its charm.

Condition:
Exceptional condition for this type of object. No major accident, very few broken flowers compared to the number, only the head of the bird catcher has been restored, the arm of the woman in pink as well as a few knots.

Dimensions:
33 cm (base diameter) x 45 cm (height). ref 2974 / 10.15 kg / 15000