This large vase in the form of an amphora presents a whole range of decorative features typical of Saxon porcelain: sculptural groups, flowers and fruits in relief, modelled elements on the handles, and paintings on the surfaces with narrative scenes and flowers. Where the modelled elements are concerned, we first find a sculptural group with the figures of Mars and Minerva on the upper part of the lid. At their feet, a garland of small flowers frames a painted scene. On the shoulder of the body, we find a second group with allegories of the seasons, with Spring and Summer in the form of two female figures, one with a basket of flowers and the other with some ears of wheat. Between them is a crown on a cushion over which they scatter flowers. The acanthus-shaped handles sprout from two masks on the body that could be interpreted as the face of Myrrha. From the neck to the base of the body, a garland of large fruits and flowers frames the principal painted scene. On the foot, we once more find the repeated figure of Spring with a basket of flowers, which could also be interpreted as Flora, and an Eros or Cupid on the left side. Between the two, another garland of flowers and fruits frames another painted scene. On the octagonal base, a further garland of fruits and flowers modelled in relief divides each of the eight faces, serving as the frame for several paintings. The painted parts are divided between the front face, which shows various mythological scenes, and the rear, on which several floral sprays are distributed.

The painted scenes on the front are based on mythological paintings by Angelica Kauffmann. The main scene painted on the belly of the vase is the history of Servius Tullius. The future king of Rome is the child who appears asleep with some flames emanating from his head. A woman tries to put them out with a bowl of water while a man raises his hands to prevent her. On the lid of the vase is a depiction of Cupid tied to a tree by the Three Graces, Aglaia, Thalia and Euphrosyne, also taken from Kauffmann’s work Etiam amor criminibus plectitur. On the neck of the vase, two flying putti bear a wreath with one hand. On the foot is a painted scene from the work The Mirror of Venus, also by the same painter, with Venus attended by the nymphs in the company of Cupid. Further references to love are found on the octagonal pedestal, which presents three scenes. On the left is the story of Rinaldo and Armida, a scene inspired by Torcuato Tasso’s literary work Jerusalem Delivered; on the left is Jupiter disguised as Diana, about to seduce the nymph Callisto; and in the centre is Helen presented by Venus to Paris. On the back of the vase are small floral sprays painted on the lid, neck and foot, and on the rear panels of the octagonal base. On the body, a large bouquet occupies the whole central surface with French roses, honeysuckles, tulips, primroses and other flowers.

Together with the use of gold, the rich palette, with pinks, oranges, blues, greens and turquoises, recalls Rococo models, very frequent throughout the nineteenth century in the Saxon porcelain factories, which repeated decorative formulae that had already been successful in Meissen in the previous century, sometimes combining elements from different periods. Such is the case of this piece, where we find sculptural groups or flowers and fruits in large relief garlands, mythological scenes and painted sprays of flowers in the Rococo taste alongside more classical features, such as the scrolled border painted in gold and the pink and turquoise palmettes in relief on the lower part of the body.

Kauffmann’s mythological paintings were very widely disseminated at that time thanks to their publication as prints by Thomas Kirk, Francesco Bartolozzi, William Wynne Ryland and Thomas Burke. Her works were used in several European porcelain factories throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including those of Meissen and Vienna.

The blue mark of a T and an X under the base of this vase indicates that the piece comes from the factory of Carl Thierne in Potschappel (Dresden). This mark was used by the factory between 1888 and 1901, coinciding with the period when it was directed by Karl August Kuntsch, the son-in-law of the founder of the factory. Kuntsch was a recognised modeller and painter, and this work can probably be attributed to him. His sculptural work recalls some of the compositions of the eighteenth-century sculpture groups of Johann Joachim Kaendler. His paintings are also notable for their careful draughtsmanship and rich combination of colours.

This imposing vase is further embellished by the carved and gilded wooden pedestal on which it rests.

Félix García Díez