Lot Essay
In 1770, Frederick II of Prussia commissioned a dessert service as a gift to Catherine II to mark the alliance formed between Prussia and Russia at the Treaty of Hubertsburg in 1764.
The service, which arrived in St Petersburg in 1772, was one of the most sumptuous sets produced by the Royal Berlin Porcelain Factory in the 18th century. The number and variety of the pieces was outstanding. The dessert set was complemented by an elaborate centrepiece consisting of over 40 porcelain figures, largely designed by the Prussian King himself and executed by the factory's most accomplished modellers and painters.
The figures were based on J.-B. Tillard's engravings (which were in turn based on drawings by J. B. Le Prince) for Nationalities of Russia by Chappe d'Auteroche, published in 1768. The ethnographic variety of the figures and the attention to detail in the portrayal of their costumes is exceptional. In this example the bast shoes, heavy coat and fur-trimmed hat characterise the Russian peasant. The oriental head-dress he is holding, symbolises Russia's victory in the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774.
The service, which arrived in St Petersburg in 1772, was one of the most sumptuous sets produced by the Royal Berlin Porcelain Factory in the 18th century. The number and variety of the pieces was outstanding. The dessert set was complemented by an elaborate centrepiece consisting of over 40 porcelain figures, largely designed by the Prussian King himself and executed by the factory's most accomplished modellers and painters.
The figures were based on J.-B. Tillard's engravings (which were in turn based on drawings by J. B. Le Prince) for Nationalities of Russia by Chappe d'Auteroche, published in 1768. The ethnographic variety of the figures and the attention to detail in the portrayal of their costumes is exceptional. In this example the bast shoes, heavy coat and fur-trimmed hat characterise the Russian peasant. The oriental head-dress he is holding, symbolises Russia's victory in the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774.