Museum Piece 18C Chinese Porcelain Bowl 1757-1760 King Frederic the Great China Encre de Chine Grisaille

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Condition Report: COndition: Totally restored. Most pieces are there. Small chip is missing on the rim. Size: 23cm

This needs to be in a Museum

A very nice example of 18th c export porcelain grisaille around 1758. A very rare bowl. We have not been able to find a second one in any literature of website.

Most likely commemorating Frederick the Great 1757 campaign and made after a decoration on a medal. The text was in English as part of the 7 year war Prussia and Britain had an alliance with Prussia was undertaken partly in order to protect electoral Hanover, the British ruling dynasty’s Continental possession

the medal was  struck to mark the Prussian victory in the Battle of Prague, fought on 6 May 1757 outside the city in the modern day Czech Republic. The obverse features a right-facing, half-length portrait of Frederick the Great in armour, wearing a wreath of oak leaves, his hair tied back and falling over his shoulder. The legend reads ‘FRIDERICVS MAGN. D. G. REX BORVSS. EL. BRAND. DVX SILES ET’. Translated, this identifies Frederick as King of Prussia, Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Silesia (etc.). The reverse is a bit on the nose. It Shows the winged figure of Victory, lightning bolts extending from her right hand and captured weaponry, armour and cannon at her feet. In her left hand she holds a shield bearing the words ‘VICTORIA FRIDERICI MAGN’ – Victory of Frederick the Great’. She’s in the act of kicking the crown off the kneeling figure of the Holy Roman Empress, Maria Theresa, Frederick’s most significant rival. The legend above the scene translates as ‘fame, wisdom and courage’. Though he did cause her forces to retreat at the Battle of Prague, Frederick, leading his own armies, was not able to attack the city itself. The Prussian victory came in the early phase of the Third Silesian War, the last of three Silesian Wars between Frederick’s Prussia and Maria Theresa’s Austria, and broadly part of the Seven Years War. The costly Third War would ultimately end with a treaty confirming Prussian control of Silesia but certainly not removing any of the Empresses many crowns. Nether-the-less, the conflict, including victories like that at Prague greatly enhanced the prestige of Prussia and its King

 

Grisaille
In art, deriving from the French word gris (gray) this refers to painting executed entirely in monochromatic tones of gray and white. Although often used for study sketches, a painting en grisaille can be a completed work in its own right. Sometimes it has been executed as a model for an engraver to work from, or is the initial compositional under painting for an unfinished picture. In Chinese ceramics this term is sometimes used to describe porcelains decorated with black or dark brown over-glaze enamel.

A decoration of mainly in tones of gray, presenting an appearance with more shades than “encre-de-chine”. with few exceptions mostly used in export porcelain.

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