A large Capodimonte dish, circa 1750
A large Capodimonte dish, circa 1750. Photo Sotheby's
of deep moulded silver shape, extravagantly painted with a scene of chinoiserie figures taking tea in the elaborate bell towers and flowered grounds of a waterside pavilion, ships and an island in the distance, the rim with a broad border of similar fantasy, with chinese figures struggling manfully to bend the flowering branch border to their will, blue fleur-delys mark (some cracks and restoration); 44.5cm., 17 1/2in. diameter. Estimate 15,000-20,000 GBP
PROVENANCE: Blohm collection
Guy Hannaford, Christie's Rome, 10 March 1977, lot 285
The Torre Collection, Christie's Geneva, 16 November 1992, lot 1
NOTE: This large dish is exceptional for its dimensions and its highly elaborated composition. The rare border decoration shows the influence of the ornaments used by the Augsburg's goldsmiths, of the Vienna Du Paquier porcelain and may derive from prints.
There is a record of the painter Giovanni Caselli, artistic Director of Capodimonte, asking in 1746, the Neapolitan Ambassador in Paris, the Duke of Jalas, for engravings; since these were not available in Paris, 1747, the Ambassador suggested trying Augsburg or Nuremberg.
Sotheby's. The Collection of Giovanni and Gabriella Barilla, Londres | 14 mars 2012