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Lot Essay
This table was executed in 1790 on the occasion of the coronation of Leopold II, Emperor of Austria (1790-1792), and demonstrates the unusual combination of cabinet-making porcelain.
Wedgwood's ambitions of export were increased through the Anglo-German trade agreement of 1786, which encouraged Josiah Wedgwood II (d.1843) to travel through Europe during 1790. At this time, the company started to produce a 'German' series for the coronation of Leopold II.
A series of seven blue cameos which were designed by Henry Webber (d. 1826) are listed in an invoice for a dispatch to Frankfurt.
These depict: 'The gift of a child and Minerva' which refers to Leopold's succession as Grand Duke of Toscana in 1765; 'Mars giving a crown to Germany to lay it on a portrait of Leopold'; 'Germany in between Russia and Turkey' referring to the Turkish Wars of 1788. The smaller cameos show: 'The Crowning of Leopold II', 'Leopold as law giver supported by wisdom and charity' and 'A personification of the Empire while holding a bust of Leopold while a priest is consecrating an altar'.
Wedgwood's ambitions of export were increased through the Anglo-German trade agreement of 1786, which encouraged Josiah Wedgwood II (d.1843) to travel through Europe during 1790. At this time, the company started to produce a 'German' series for the coronation of Leopold II.
A series of seven blue cameos which were designed by Henry Webber (d. 1826) are listed in an invoice for a dispatch to Frankfurt.
These depict: 'The gift of a child and Minerva' which refers to Leopold's succession as Grand Duke of Toscana in 1765; 'Mars giving a crown to Germany to lay it on a portrait of Leopold'; 'Germany in between Russia and Turkey' referring to the Turkish Wars of 1788. The smaller cameos show: 'The Crowning of Leopold II', 'Leopold as law giver supported by wisdom and charity' and 'A personification of the Empire while holding a bust of Leopold while a priest is consecrating an altar'.