823 - Meissen Königliche Porzellanmanufaktur

Meissen Königliche Porzellanmanufaktur A Meissen porcelain figure of a seated Budai with tea implements Modelled with an open mouth and pierced ears, seated on a shaped base, with a teapot and a cup and saucer in front of him. The robe decorated with delicate chinoiserie flowers and a purple border. Hollow, unmarked base. Restorations to the outstretched hand and chips around the basal ring; vertical firing cracks. Height 11 cm. Meissen, 1720s. These Budai or pagoda figures were designed as incense burners. The perfumed smoke could escape through the mouth or the head. In the 1770 inventory, Claus Boltz mentions several examples of these figures in different sizes, many of them described as “defect” or “entzwey” (in two). Provenance South German private collection. Literature Cf. Rückert, Meissener Porzellan 1710–1810, Munich 1966, cat. nos. 840 and 841, both with a slightly flatter base. Cf. Boltz, Japanisches Palais-Inventar 1770 und Turmzimmer-Inventar 1769, in: Keramos 153/1996, p. 53. Cf. den Blaauwen, Meissen Porcelain in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam 2000, cat. no. 307, a version without a base or vessels placed upon it. Cf. Hanemann (ed.), Goldchinesen und indianische Blumen. Die Sammlung Ludwig in Bamberg. Fayencen und Porzellan, Petersberg 2010, cat. no. 33, with an incised base, additionally decorated in iron red and with a purple lustre. Cf. Deldicque (ed.), La fabrique de l’extravagance. Meissen and Chantilly Porcelain, Saint-Remy-en-l’Eau–Chantilly–Munich 2020, cat. no. 46.