Lot Essay
The coat-of-arms are those of Count Branicki and his wife born
Engelhardt.
This serving dish is part of the magnicifent Branicki service commissioned by the newly-widowed Countess Branicki in 13 May 1819 from Odiot.
The service was exhibited by Odiot in the PRODUITS DE L'INDUSTRIE FRANçAISE AU LOUVRE, held bewteen 25 August and 30 September 1819. According to Odiot's bill, the service comprised 140 pieces, many of which were double-gilt.
After the Countess' death in 1838, the story of her magnificent
service, said to be the grandest in Poland, is obscure. It remained in the Branicki family and appears to have been transferred to Wilanow
when the family inherited that property from the Potocki family in 1892. During the financial crisis of the late 1920s, the majority of the service appears to have been transferred to state ownership by Adam Branicki. He was the last member of the titled branch of the Branicki family and married Countess Anne Potocka, who died in 1953.
Certain pieces of the Branicki Service have remained in Wilanow, where the tea and coffee-service is currently displayed, as well as a toilet- service of the same date by other makers. The majority of the Odiot service appears to have been promptly sold by the government; many pieces were acquired by the German banker Dr Fritz Mannheimer, who subsequently settled in Amsterdam. Much of his share of the service is now in the Rijksmuseum. Other pieces were dispersed and have appeared regularly at auctions including a pair of magnificent tureens from the Love Collection, (Christie's, New York, 28 April 1992, lot 31)
Engelhardt.
This serving dish is part of the magnicifent Branicki service commissioned by the newly-widowed Countess Branicki in 13 May 1819 from Odiot.
The service was exhibited by Odiot in the PRODUITS DE L'INDUSTRIE FRANçAISE AU LOUVRE, held bewteen 25 August and 30 September 1819. According to Odiot's bill, the service comprised 140 pieces, many of which were double-gilt.
After the Countess' death in 1838, the story of her magnificent
service, said to be the grandest in Poland, is obscure. It remained in the Branicki family and appears to have been transferred to Wilanow
when the family inherited that property from the Potocki family in 1892. During the financial crisis of the late 1920s, the majority of the service appears to have been transferred to state ownership by Adam Branicki. He was the last member of the titled branch of the Branicki family and married Countess Anne Potocka, who died in 1953.
Certain pieces of the Branicki Service have remained in Wilanow, where the tea and coffee-service is currently displayed, as well as a toilet- service of the same date by other makers. The majority of the Odiot service appears to have been promptly sold by the government; many pieces were acquired by the German banker Dr Fritz Mannheimer, who subsequently settled in Amsterdam. Much of his share of the service is now in the Rijksmuseum. Other pieces were dispersed and have appeared regularly at auctions including a pair of magnificent tureens from the Love Collection, (Christie's, New York, 28 April 1992, lot 31)