Lidded terrine

Königlich-Polnische und Kurfürstlich-Sächsische Porzellan-Manufaktur,

Meissen, Germany, decoration design by Johann Joachim Kändler, 1739, execution after 1750

Glazed, painted and gilt white porcelain.

H: 23 cm

Markings: Swords in blue; 8, 2 imprints

UMP 7624

This legendary Meissen service featuring an intricate relief decoration called “Schneeballblüten” contains a wide variety of forms created from designs by Johann Joachim Kändler. All of the forms are covered with a hand-sculpted relief decor of appliqué blossoms lightly tinted purple and yellow, complemented by leaves and grapevine tendrils. Kändler first used this decoration in 1739 to adorn a tea-service that truly evokes snowball blossoms. In the following years, Kändler created a number of additional forms decorated in the same manner, including highly intricate sculpted vases for the Elector of Saxony Augustus III. In 1742 Kändler designed a lidded bowl decorated with the coat of arms of the Dauphin of France; its form influenced his other bowls from 1745–1750.

Schneeballblüten vase, H: 55 cm, from the current production of the porcelain factory in Meissen