Porcelain, glazed, polychrome and gold painted
Porcelain Manufactory Meissen, established in 1710
Model by Johann Carl Schönheit (1730-1805) – German porcelain painter, from the year 1772
Each with underglaze blue crossed swords mark, the model numbers ‘E 1.’, ‘E.2.’, ‘E 3.’, ‘E.4.’, ‘E.5.’, different painter’s number, and different numbered
Five porcelain figures, the complete series of the ‘Five Senses’, consisting of ‘The Hearing’, ‘The Taste’, ‘The Face’, ‘The Sense’ and ‘The Scent’
Height: between 12.4 and 14.5 cm
Five lady figures with fineness lace trimming by Johann Carl Schönheit

Condition:

The figures are in good condition. Some small restorations on four figures can be found. One leaf of the figure ‘The Scent’ with a minimal loss. The gold décor and the painting are scattered minimal rubbed.

Johann Carl Schönheit (1730-1805)

Johann Carl Schönheit, born in Meißen, was a modeler at the Porcelain Manufactory Meissen between 1745 and 1794. Amongst others he was the colleague of Johann Joachim Kaendler and Michel Victor Acier. From 1765 he created single-handedly genre figures, allegorical and mythological groups.

Porcelain Manufactory Meissen

Porcelain has been known in Europe since the 13th century, but always had to be imported from China. Thus it was mostly of lower quality – the Chinese rarely gave their best ware to the foreigners – and extremely expensive. As demand for porcelain became greater, European alchemists tried to discover the formula to create hard-paste porcelain. The production of the first European hard-paste porcelain was the result of a collaboration between the alchemist Johann Friedrich Böttger and the scientist Ehrenfried Walther Graf von Tschirnhaus at the court of Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony, in Dresden. As a matter of fact, it was finally achieved for the first time in Europe in 1708 to produce a white hard paste porcelain and in 1710 Augustus established Europe’s first hard-paste porcelain factory in the Albrechtsburg, a palace in Meissen. The so-called ‘Böttgerporzellan’ actually had more of a stoneware quality and it was not until the year 1713 that white porcelain was available for purchase. Initially unmarked, the motif of the ‘crossed swords’ was developed in the early 1720s and used from 1723 onwards. Since then, beautifully modelled and painted figures and table services were produced at Meissen, establishing its reputation as the pre-eminent porcelain factory in Europe. Outstanding potters, modelers and painters, e.g. Johann Joachim Kändler (1706-1775), Johann Gottlieb Klinger (1701-1781) and Count Camillo Marcolini (1739-1814), were employed at the factory, which dominated the 18th century style of porcelain, and Meissen wares and figurines were imitated by craftsmen at other porcelain factories throughout Europe. Meissen celebrated its 300 years of existence in 2008. Until today, Meissen porcelain is known for highest quality and originality and greatly appreciated. (ala)

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