Rare Meissen Marcolini Porcelain Chinoiserie Incense Burner Vase and Cover

A Museum Quality Piece.

Painted in the sought after famille rose palette with sprigs of indianische Blumen and enriched in gilding, the simulated pierced body supported by four feet painted with stylized dragons, the pierced cover with a Buddhist lion finial.

10″ high x 6″ wide x 6″ deep

The shape of this piece, which appears to be unrecorded in the literature, is inspired by similar Chinese porcelain censers from the Qing Dynasty, Kangxi Period (1654-1722). An example in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated by Li Yi-hua in Qing Porcelain of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Periods from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, pl. 65. Another in the British Museum, London (museum no. PDF, A.812) is catalogued as a perfume-holder.

These porcelain examples are in turn inspired by ancient Chinese bronzes from both the Shang (1600-1046 BC) and the Zhou (1046-246 BCE) dynasties, an example of which was sold anonymously by Christie’s New York, 22 March 2019, lot 1601. This chain of inspiration tracking backwards from the 19th century to antiquity provides a clear example of how ceramics, and indeed other mediums, are able to influence and motivate the works of later generations.

For a Meissen porcelain snuff box with similar moulded fretwork decoration, see Michael Röbbig-Reyes (ed.), Meissen Snuff Boxes of the Eighteenth century, Munich, 2013, p. 364.

Very good museum condition. No chips, cracks, or repairs.