CIRCA 1745

Details

A grisaille 'Martin Luther' saucer
Circa 1745
Decorated at the centre en grisaille with a bust-length portrait of Martin Luther holding a quill and book, the rim with a narrow band of gilt and grisaille scrolling foliage, hairline rim crack
11.9 cm. diam.

Provenance

Lempertz Auction 541, nr. 3430.

Special notice

Christie's charge a premium to the buyer on the final bid price of each lot sold at the following rates: 23.8% of the final bid price of each lot sold up to and including €150,000 and 14.28% of any amount in excess of €150,000. Buyers' premium is calculated on the basis of each lot individually.

Lot Essay

The decoration has been taken from an engraving by Jan Luiken (1649-1712), probably after a portrait by Cranach the Younger; it was included in a Lutheran Bible published at the beginning of the 18th century. A service with this portrait was made for the market of Protestant Holland, possibly for the bicentenary of Luther's death. For a similar example see F. Hervouet and Y. Bruneau, La Porcelaine des Compagnies des Indes a Décor Occidental, Paris, 1986, p. 272, fig. 11.45 and for an example of a teapot with this decoration see D. Howard and J. Ayers, China for the West, volume I, New York, 1978, p. 253, fig. 247

More from Asian Art

View All