Property of the Earl of Clarendon (Lots 37-40, 44-46)
A Berlin (K.P.M.) blue-ground two-handled Royal portrait vase and stand (Französische Vase mit Greifenkopfhenkeln), circa 1850
Auction Closed
May 22, 05:01 PM GMT
Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
the gilt griffin handles with acanthus leaf terminals, the blue ground reserved with an oval portrait panel of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia, after Franz Krüger, within a gilt tooled frame, the gold ground neck and socle foot tooled with a broad oak leaf border above the square base, on a square gold ground stand, the vase with sceptre above eagle within a roundel mark in underglaze-blue, stencilled orb and KPM mark in iron-red, the stand with sceptre above eagle within a roundel mark in underglaze-blue
Height 80 cm., 31 1/2 in. (vase and stand)
Presented to George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon (1800-1870), by Wilhelm, Prince of Prussia (later King Wilhelm I from 1861 and Emperor from 1871-88) at the time of the marriage of the prince's son, Friedrich, to Victoria, Princess Royal of England, in 1858
Messrs Humbert & Flint, Inventory and Valuation of Furniture, etc. at Midgham Park, Near Reading, made for Insurance purposes, March 1955, p. 14, ("3 large mazanine [sic] blue and 18 carat gold leaf vases with hand-painted panels given to the 4th Earl of Clarendon by the Prince of Prussia on the occasion of the marriage of his son with the Princess Royal of England") (held in the Bodleian Library, Archives & Manuscripts, MS. 16644/339)
In the mid 19th century, the Berlin porcelain factory's most important client was King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia (1795-1861), who ordered porcelain for state gifts to a value of around 16,000 Thaler each year, following in a long tradition of porcelain as part of royal diplomatic gift-giving. The present lot, originally part of a three-vase garniture and bearing a portrait of the king, belongs to this tradition and was presented by the king's brother, Wilhelm, Prince of Prussia, to George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon, at the time of the marriage of his son, Prince Friedrich, to Victoria, Princess Royal of England, in 1858. Three years later in 1861, upon the death of his brother, Wilhelm was crowned King Wilhelm I and later became Emperor from 1871 to 1888.