Antique Pair German Dresden Style Porcelain Lamps C1920
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This is an exquisite and large pair of German Dresden style porcelain lamps dating from the early 20th Century.
The lamps are decorated with four alternate panels, two of which depicting lovers into a naturalistic landscape with foliage, bushes and trees. The other two panels depict a variety of flowers against a red background.
These were originally a pair of vases that have been skillfully converted for electricity into these superb lamps.
Condition:
Offered in excellent condition having been rewired and in full working order.
Dimensions in cm:
Height 39 x Width 17 x Depth 17
Dimensions in inches:
Height 1 foot, 3 inches x Width 7 inches x Depth 7 inches
In the early 1700s, King Augustus II, prince elector of Saxony, held goldsmith Johann Bottger prisoner and commissioned him to create gold. Bottger instead discovered the method of creating porcelain, a favored and valuable item in the king's eyes.
The king announced to Europe in 1710 that he would open a porcelain manufactory in Dresden. He instead opened one at nearby Albrechtsburg castle. Espionage was rampant, and the king guarded his porcelain secret, even though it meant imprisoning workers within the castle walls.
By 1720, the secret was leaked and porcelain producers popped up in Vienna and Venice. Dresden porcelain adopted Saxon crossed swords in under-glaze blue as its distinguishing mark.
In 1736, the porcelain manufactory produced the "Swan Service." It consists of 1,400 pieces, and is the largest, most lavish porcelain service ever created.
In 1872, Dresden built its own manufactory to better establish its role in porcelain production.
Angelica Kauffman, RA (1741 - 1807)
was a Swiss-born Austrian Neoclassical painter who had a successful career in London and Rome. Though born as "Kauffmann", Kauffman is the preferred spelling of her name in English; it is the form she herself used most in signing her correspondence, documents and paintings.
While Kauffman produced many types of art, she identified herself primarily as a history painter, an unusual designation for a woman artist in the 18th century. History painting, was considered the most elite and lucrative category in academic painting during this time period. Under the direction of Sir Joshua Reynolds, the Royal Academy made a strong effort to promote history painting to a native audience who were more interested in commissioning and buying portraits and landscapes.
Despite the popularity that Kauffman enjoyed in British society and her success as an artist, she was disappointed by the relative apathy that the British had towards history painting. Ultimately she left Britain for the continent, where history painting was better established, held in higher esteem and patronized.
The works of Angelica Kauffman have retained their reputation. By 1911, rooms decorated with her work were still to be seen in various quarters. At Hampton Court was a portrait of the duchess of Brunswick; in the National Portrait Gallery, a self-portrait. There were other pictures by her at Paris, at Dresden, in the Hermitage at St Petersburg, in the Alte Pinakothek atMunich, in Kadriorg Palace, Tallinn (Estonia).
Satinwood
is a hard and durable wood with a satinlike sheen, much used in cabinetmaking, especially in marquetry. It comes from two tropical trees of the family Rutaceae (rue family). East Indian or Ceylon satinwood is the yellowish or dark-brown heartwood of Chloroxylon swietenia.
The lustrous, fine-grained, usually figured wood is used for furniture, cabinetwork, veneers, and backs of brushes. West Indian satinwood, sometimes called yellow wood, is considered superior. It is the golden yellow, lustrous, even-grained wood found in the Florida Keys and the West Indies.
It has long been valued for furniture. It is also used for musical instruments, veneers, and other purposes. Satinwood is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Sapindales, family Rutaceae.
Our reference: 09379
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