A RARE MEISSEN GOLD-GROUND SOUP TUREEN, COVER AND STAND CIRCA 1735-40

each piece painted with various quayside or landscape vignettes, and on the front of the tureen with a view of probably the Albrechtsburg at Meissen, within quatrefoil panels reserved on a white cherub-, shell motif- and foliate scroll-patterned gold ground, the tureen affixed on either side with a Frauenkopf  handle and the cover with a crown knop, crossed swords mark in underglaze-blue.

A. S. Drey, Munich
Collection of Catalina von Pannwitz, Berlin and Heemstede, acquired from the above in 1919

Stand: Both handles have been broken off and pinned back with some restoration and over-gilding to the handles with some areas partially made-up near where the handles meet the stand and yellowed overspray visible on the underside. The knob of the cover has been off and bolted back.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The von Pannwitz Collection of German porcelain is discussed by Sebastian Kuhn, "Collecting Culture: The Taste for Eighteenth-Century German Porcelain, The Arnhold Collection of Meissen Porcelain, 1710-50, pp. 66-68, where this tureen, cover and stand are illustrated in situ at the Hartekamp House in the Netherlands, circa 1925 (p. 70); the author comments on von Pannwitz's unique and educated taste and their rather distinct approach to collecting, which focused on harmoniously decorating the interior of their house, rather than assembling a thematic or an extensive group of objects like many collectors did at the time. Ulrich Pietsch illustrates a similarly decorated rectangular plaque in Early Meissen Porcelain, The Wark Collection, p. 412, no. 477, where he suggests was used as a master model for painters. The author also notes that the decoration exhibits elements characteristic of the painting of Johann George Heintze.