1750-1756

This service is believed to have been ordered by the Prussian East India Company as a gift for Frederick II, King of Prussia, who in 1750 founded the Company. It was based in the German port of Emden, and was disbanded in 1757 as a result of the Seven Years' War. In 1755, one of the four ships sailing for the Company, the Prinz von Preussen, which was believed to have been carrying this service, ran aground on the East Frisian island of Borkum, and the damaged pieces were salvaged, taken to Emden and offered at auction in 1764. For a detailed account of this service, see C. Le Corbeiller, op.cit., 1974, pp.80-83, and no.32 where a tureen and cover from the Helena Woolworth McCann Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. About 153 pieces from this service were acquired in the late 19th Century by the Hohenzollernmuseum. Further pieces are in the collections in the Staatliche Schlsser und Grten, Berlin, where three wine coolers similar to the present lot, are included as no.101.11 in the 1991 Catalogue; another wine cooler, together with a tureen and cover, from the Huis Doorn is illustrated by D.S. Lunsingh Scheurleer, op.cit., 1974, no.156; a plate from the British Museum is illustrated by M. Beurdeley, op.cit., 1962, cat.195; and a tureen stand in the Hodroff Collection is illustrated by David S. Howard, op.cit., 1994, no.106