PROPERTY FROM THE FALCK COLLECTION (LOTS 128–145)The following lots (lots 128 – 145) are from the collection formed by Alberto Falck (1938-2003) and his wife, Cecilia Collalto Giustiniani (1941-2015). Cecilia had porcelain ‘in the blood’, as she was from the noble Venetian family which had ordered the famous Meissen armorial service for their palazzo in the mid-18th century. The couple lived in Milan, and for many years Alberto was President of the Milanese private steel company Acciaierie e Ferriere Lombarde Falck, which was founded by his great, great grandfather in 1833. Alberto was a profound lover of the Arts, collecting among other things, manuscripts and ancient Roman glass, and he began collecting Meissen after marrying his wife in 1969. He was particularly drawn to the whiteness and hardness of Meissen porcelain, and was fascinated by the endless forms of objects that were produced, from snuf-boxes, vases or wares to models of animals. Cecilia was fascinated by the detail of the decoration, and how the decorative styles at Meissen evolved during the 18th century. They collected together, beginning with models of birds acquired from a dealer in Milan. After acquiring the models of swans in Venice from the sale of a Rothschild collection in 1977, the collection grew in earnest. As their passion grew, the breadth of the collection began to include pieces from other 18th century manufactories, such as du Paquier in Vienna, or decorative Dutch Delft pieces.

A MEISSEN ARMORIAL BEAKER

CIRCA 1724-25

Details

A MEISSEN ARMORIAL BEAKER
CIRCA 1724-25
Of slightly flared cylindrical form, painted on one side with a huntress holding a rifle, standing with a hound at her side, with drapery and a table to her left and trees in the background, the other side with a seated lady playing the lute below a flower bower, a parrot perched on a building to her right and a monkey on a cushion at her side, with a sheep in the foreground and a river, town and trees in the distance, within quatrefoil gilt scroll-edged cartouches with Böttger lustre, issuing further purple foliate scrolls, flanked on each side on the lower part by a gilt scroll-edged bracket with gilt, lustre and blue drapery supporting a basket or bowl of flowers, one side with a squirrel, and on the upper part by the coat of arms for Heynitz of Meissen and Pistoris of Saxon, the foot with a brown and gilt band rim
4 3/4. in. (12 cm.) high

Provenance

Property of a Gentleman; sale Christie's, London, 2 October 1978, lot 176.

Brought to you by

Carys Bingham

cbingham@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2350

Lot Essay

Both coats of arms appear to be unrecorded on Meissen porcelain. The coat of arms of an escutcheon with stripes and a rosette, the helmet turned to left and the crest with two elephant trunks is of Simon Pistoris the Elder and Simon Pistoris the Younger; a print of the same arms, dating to circa 1530-40, is in the British Museum, London, museum no. 1972, U.1148.

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