MID-18TH CENTURY

These superb wine coolers bear the arms of Marchese Francesco Marana and Marchesa Laura Marana Isola of Genoa and form part of a dessert service delivered to them by Carlo Ginori of the Doccia Manufactory near Florence, circa 1750. The service was delivered before 30 October 1750, date of a letter addressed by the Marchesa to Ginori in which she states: 'the services with the arms was plentiful as to pieces and very fine' (L. Ginori-Lisci, 'Heraldic Porcelains from the Doccia Factory', Keramik Freunde der Schweiz).

A related wine cooler or cache-pot was sold at Christie's, Geneva, 3 December 1982, lot 36, and related Doccia armorial plates featuring the arms of Marana and Isola, were sold at Christie's, London, 17 April 2000, lot 83, and 11 March 1996, lot 146, respectively. In fact, the Marchese's arms are found on Doccia wares with several different styles of decoration, suggesting that they were regular clients of the factory, and a vase with cover from the same service is in the Museo delle Porcellane di Doccia in Sesto Fiorentino (A. Mottola Molfino, L'Arte della Porcellana in Italia, Il Veneto e la Toscana, Bramante, 1976, vol. I, fig. 401). For further information on the Isola-Marana service, see L. Ginori-Lisci, op.cit., no. 40, pp.17-21, and by the same author, La Porcellana di Doccia, 1963, p. 48, fig. 25.