457 - Meissen Onion Pattern, Seven-Piece Group with Plates and Cups, Knaufzeit circa 1900

Meissen Onion Pattern, Seven-Piece Group with Plates and Cups, Knaufzeit circa 1900 Porcelain, Onion Pattern in underglaze blue, glazed. Seven-piece group by the Staatliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Meissen in the classic “Onion Pattern”: two cups (first choice, h. 6.5 cm), a reticulated plate with a richly pierced basket rim (pommel crossed swords mark, two grinding strokes, d. 24 cm), three dinner plates (pommel crossed swords mark, d. 24 cm) as well as a further dinner plate (two grinding strokes, d. 25.5 cm). The encircling decoration shows the stylised bamboo and flowering branches with the eponymous “onions” – in fact peaches and pomegranates – in strong cobalt blue. The undersides bear the underglaze blue pommel crossed swords mark, in part with grinding strokes. Condition commensurate with age, small glaze flaws, the reticulated plate with a stress crack. The Onion Pattern is Meissen’s most famous decoration; it was created around 1730 after East Asian models of the Kangxi period, the supposed onions in truth being stylised peaches and pomegranates. The pommel crossed swords mark dates the group to the Knaufzeit (about 1850 to 1924). Founded in 1710, the Staatliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Meissen is the oldest porcelain manufactory in Europe. An extensive group for collectors and for the well-laid table.