526 - Meissen Mocha Service Rich Dragon Yellow, 15 Pieces, First Quality, 2nd Half 20th c.

Meissen Mocha Service Rich Dragon Yellow, 15 Pieces, First Quality, 2nd Half 20th c. Porcelain, painted in yellow and brown, heightened and decorated with gold, glazed. Mocha service for six by the State Porcelain Manufactory Meissen in the Rich Dragon pattern in yellow, comprising a mocha pot with cover, a sugar box with cover, a milk jug and six mocha cups with saucers, 15 pieces in all. The pot of pear form with a moulded, gilt-edged spout, a curved handle and a domed cover with a flower knop; the cups shaped and scalloped with a wavy edge and a handle. On the walls a yellow dragon outlined in brown with a scaled body between fluttering ribbons, in the wells of the saucers a pair of phoenixes, on the rims stylised symbols of good fortune; all edges with a gold line. On the bases the underglaze blue crossed swords, on the saucer additionally in gold the pattern number 320610 and the painter's number 160. First quality. Good condition. Cup h. 5.5 cm, pot h. 17 cm. The pattern follows Japanese models in the Kakiemon style from Arita; the Saxon court first ordered it from Meissen in 1730, and a surviving covered tureen from the court service is dated around 1739. Until 1918 it was made exclusively for the Saxon court, hence the alternative name Court Dragon used in the trade. The figures indicate the colourway: 320110 polychrome, 320210 light blue, 320310 green, 320410 purple, 320510 red, 320610 yellow. The manufactory has issued six-figure pattern numbers since the 1970s; the number after the slash denotes the painter.