Centerpiece; Germany, 20th century

Centerpiece; Germany, 20th century
Glazed porcelain
Bears a stamp on the base
Measurements: 47 x 32 x 32 cm.

A centerpiece made of glazed porcelain and lavishly gilded, possibly produced in Dresden during the second half of the 20th century. The upper section features a bowl or basket with a flared profile and an openwork design. The center of the bowl is encircled by a garland of roses rendered in high relief. This upper section is supported, in the manner of a caryatid, by a female figure in the round wearing a gilded tunic, with one leg exposed. The young woman, who holds a large cluster of purple grapes over her left shoulder and a basket of fruit in her right hand, likely embodies an allegory of Autumn, Abundance, or the figure of a bacchante. The entire piece rests on a broad, stepped circular base.

Both the virtuosity of the porcelain work and the embossed flowers hark back to the repertoire created by the historic Meissen manufactory. Founded in 1710 following Johann Friedrich Böttger’s discovery of the formula for hard-paste porcelain, Meissen established itself during the 18th century as the preeminent European authority in the field. Building on its immense prestige, and taking advantage of the region’s geographical proximity and deep-rooted ceramic tradition, various manufacturers and decorative workshops emerged throughout the 19th and 20th centuries in Saxony itself, particularly in Dresden. These centers freely reproduced and reinterpreted “Meissen-style” models, refinements, and motifs without being affiliated with the original manufactory, resulting in a body of work that varied greatly in quality but enjoyed extraordinary success and commercial demand—the precise context within which this piece should be situated.