An important Naples Real Fabbrica Ferdinandea porcelain plate from the 'Servizio delle Vedute del Regno', circa 1792-95, from the court service for King Ferdinand IV

Ferdinand IV, King of Naples and the Two Sicilies;

W. P. Harbeson Collection, New York (applied collector's label);

With Don Peppino Giglio;

Procida Mirabelli di Lauro Collection, Naples, no. 101, acquired from the above in 1972;

offered, Bonhams, London, 6 July 2010, lot 72.

A. Caròla-Perrotti, La Porcellana della Real Fabbrica Ferdinandea 1771-1806, Naples, 1978, cat. no. 100, col. pl. XCIV.

The ‘Servizio delle Vedute del Regno’, also known as the ‘Servizio delle Vedute napolitane’, was commissioned by the Bourbon court in 1792 for use at official occasions at the table of Ferdinand IV, King of Naples. From the early 20th century, it was also called the 'Servizio dell'Oca', in reference to the finials of the soup tureens, modelled as a boy holding a goose by the neck, in turn based on a famous sculpture from the Antique, now the Musei Capitolini, Rome.

The royal service was made between 1793 and 1795 and painted with a vast range of views of the Kingdom of Naples, including royal palaces, churches, views around the city and streets of Naples and its surrounding countryside, gateways to the city and archaeological sites, including Pompeii and Herculaneum. The titled views appear within gilt frames enclosed by simple dark red and blue-line borders with pendant flower garlands, this restrained surrounding decoration giving centre stage to the topographical scenes and thus visually emphasising the splendour and natural beauty of the Kingdom under Ferdinand IV. The overall design sees a development of the neoclassical style, with a looser and more informal interpretation than that seen on earlier topographical services made at the factory, such as the ‘Servizio Farnesiano’, owned by Giuseppe Beccadelli, Marchese di Sambuca, Ambassador in Vienna for the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and Minister of State between 1776 and 1786. His service of circa 1784-88, was more overtly neoclassical in design and featured views solely after engravings in the five-volume publication of the Illustrations de Voyages pittoresques de Naples et de Sicile of 1781 to 1786, by Abbé de Saint Non.

In 1792, the Marchese Domenico Venuti, Direttore Internino of the factory, received a letter from the 'Vedore del Reale Ramaglietto', Luigi Perschie on behalf of Ferdinand IV, requesting a replacement of the existing Court service which was 'spari e in mal ordine' [too few and in bad condition], see A. Caròla-Perrotti, La Porcellana della Real Fabbrica Ferdinandea, Naples, 1978, p. 158. The King had earlier ordered the ‘Servizio Ercolaneo’, which he presented to his father, Carlos III, King of Spain, in 1782. However, the service he now requested from Venuti, was much more to his own taste than the ‘Servizio Ercolaneo’ and appropriate for a sovereign whose kingdom, famed for its beauty, was attracting increasing numbers of royal and noble visitors.

Some of the landscape scenes for the service are taken from engravings in the Illustrations de Voyages pittoresques de Naples et de Sicile of 1781 to 1786, by Abbé de Saint Non. However, in addition to these well-known images, there are also many scenes probably taken from life by the travelling painters Berotti and Santucci who journeyed across the Kingdom to create scenes for the ‘Servizio delle Vestiture del Regno’. The scenes of contemporary Naples appear to have been strongly influenced by the compositions of Pietro Fabris and Gabriele Ricciardelli while factory documents suggest that some scenes, particularly those on the most important pieces, may have been painted by the director of the ‘Galleria dei pittori', artist Giacomo Milani.

A large part of this service (411 pieces) was brought together from various royal palaces around 1870 by the director of the Royal House of Savoy, Annibale Sacco, who established the first city museum. This part of the service is now held in the Capodimonte Museum, Naples. There are only a few pieces in private hands and museum collections, including two plates in the Legion of Honor, Fine Arts Museums, San Francisco, museum nos. Jr. 2017.13.1. and Jr. 2017.13.2. Two plates were sold at Bonhams, London, 7 December 2017, lot 90; another two on 11 December 2013, lot 128 and a single example, also at Bonhams, London on 6 July 2010, lot 73. For a detailed discussion of the service see A. Caròla-Perrotti, Le Porcellane dei Borbone di Napoli, Capodimonte e Real Fabbrica Ferdinandea, 1743-1806, exhibition catalogue, Naples 1986, pp. 440-443 and for further discussion and an inventory of the pieces at the Capodimonte Museum, Naples see Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Ceramiche, porcellane, biscuit, terraglie, maioliche, Naples, 2006, pp. 66-70, cat. no. 2.82, 2.83. See lot 352 for a Naples porcelain Real Fabbrica Ferdinandea factory 'Panchina del Real Passeggio' group, part of the figural table centrepiece that accompanied the royal service.