A substantial part of the Berlin (K.P.M.) porcelain 'Damaskus' service

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VA… Read more

The 'Damaskus' Service It is not known exactly why this service, which is an interpretation of a pattern of Chinese porcelain, is called the 'Damaskus' service. The original Chinese design was based on the overlapping pink petals of the bud of the lotus flower, which is of sacred Buddhist significance. Most porcelain of this pattern was produced in China in the mid 18th Century, much of it exported to Europe, although the wares which survive at Topkapi in Istanbul also testify to the popularity of the pattern in the Middle East (see Regina Krahl, John Ayers and Nurdan Erbahar, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, Vol III, Qing Dynasty Porcelains, London, 1996, p. 943, no. 3431). It has been suggested that Emperor Wilhelm II was given a Chinese plate of this pattern as a gift while travelling in the Middle East (he visited Damascus in 1898) and it is to this gift that the present service owes its name. The design of the Chinese originals often incorporates circular cartouches filled with stylised patterns or scrolls in contrast to the overall overlapping petal pattern of the ground. In the case of the 'Damaskus' service, the decision was made to decorate these cartouches with botanical studies in the same pink and gold ground-colours. Great efforts were made to achieve botanical accuracy in the decoration, and over 900 designs of specimen plants were produced between 1903 and 1905. The designs, which include Asian plants, European plants and some unidentifiable and perhaps fantastical plants, still survive in the KPM archive at Schloss Charlottenburg. Records in the Geheim Staatsarchiv reveal the first documented large delivery of 530 flat plates was made on 26th January 1904 and cost 9,540 Marks. In 1919 the service was moved, along with two other services, from the Neue Palais in Potsdam to Huis Doorn, and after the death of the Emperor in 1941 it was moved again to the Burg Hohenzollern. The majority of the service remained in the castle until earlier this year. For a discussion of this service see Roland Peters, 'Porcelain by KPM in the Eastern Oriental style', Keramos, October, 1995, Vol. 150, p.104. Teile eines Services, Berlin K.P.M. 'Damaskus'

A substantial part of the Berlin (K.P.M.) porcelain 'Damaskus' service

CIRCA 1903, 1905, 1906 ETC., BLUE SCEPTRE MARKS, IRON-RED PRINTED ORB AND KPM MARKS, BLUE WR MONOGRAMS WITH PRUSSIAN ROYAL CROWN ABOVE FOR EMPEROR WILHELM II

Details

A substantial part of the Berlin (K.P.M.) porcelain 'Damaskus' service
Circa 1903, 1905, 1906 etc., blue sceptre marks, iron-red printed orb and KPM marks, blue WR monograms with Prussian Royal crown above for Emperor Wilhelm II
Each piece painted in the Chinese style with puce, sepia, iron-red and gilt Oriental flowering plants, grasses, foliage and fungi within a well of gilt meandering foliage, the sauce-tureens and dishes with plain centres, the borders with radiating pink lotus petals with three gilt lobed oval cartouches of hibiscus, the rims with pendant flowerheads and foliage scrolls within a gilt line, comprising:

Six oval sauce-tureens and fixed stands with pierced handles (five dated 1905, one 1906)
Four oval serving-dishes (one dated 1905, three 1906)
Four large circular dishes (three dated 1905, one 1906)
Four square dishes (1905)
Five large deep circular dishes (1905)
Four deep circular dishes smaller (1905)
Six lozenge-shaped dishes (two dated 1905, four dated 1906) (slight wear)
Twelve soup-plates (1903)
Fourty-eight dinner-plates (1903)
Twelve dessert-plates with pierced borders (1905)
Eighteen side-plates (1905)

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

More from SILVER, PORCELAIN & GLASS FROM THE ROYAL PRUSSIAN COLLECTION

View All