A Meissen ‘Blaue Rispe’ pattern part-coffee service, circa 1904-1910 | Kaffeeserviceteile ‚Blaue Rispe‘, entworfen von Richard Riemerschmid für Meissen, circa 1904-1910

Acquired from Von Zezschwitz Art and Design Auctions, Munich, October 23, 2009, lot 153;

Former collection of a German Countess and thence by descent to the present owners.

Prof. Hans W. Singer, 'Some New Meissen Porcelain', The Studio, vol. 40, 1907, p. 57 (for a period discussion of both the van de Velde and Riemerschmid patterns designed for Meissen)

Winfried Nerdinger, Richard Riemerschmid. Vom Jugendstil zum Werkbund, Munich 1982, p. 283

Katherine Bloom Hiesinger, Art nouveau in Munich : Masters of Jugendstil, Philadelphia 1988, pp. 132 and 133 (for a period design, and an illustration of other pieces from the pattern)

Judy Rudoe, Decorative Arts 1850-1950, London 1991, p. 256

Winifred Nerdinger, 100 Jahre Deutscher Werkbund 1907-2007, New York 2007, p. 44

This pattern was conceived as a modernist response to Meissen's poor showing of dated forms and patterns at the the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900. Riemerschmid was asked to create an updated service that would reference Meissen classics with a modern aesthetic. The resulting service has a lower sleek profile with restrained decoration limited predominantly to the edges, which reflect Riemerschmid's design concepts executed in other materials.