6556 - Maximilian I Joseph and Caroline of Bavaria – a pair of bisque portrait cups in the style of Johann Peter Melchior, Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory, circa 1810

Maximilian I Joseph and Caroline of Bavaria – a pair of bisque portrait cups in the style of Johann Peter Melchior, Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory, circa 1810 White, glazed porcelain with gold decoration. The cups are chalice-shaped and rest on a round foot. Gilded swan-neck handles and rims; a floral frieze encircling the rim below the lip. On the front, high-relief profile portraits of the king and queen, respectively, in bisque porcelain, set within a matte-gilded, highly oval medallion. The saucers are decorated to match, each bearing the gold inscription “Max Joseph” or “Caroline” in mirror image. The base of each features a pressed diamond mark in the style used from 1810 onward, as well as press marks “AC,” “W,” “IS,” or “A.” Height of each cup: 10.7 cm; diameter of each saucer: 14.4 cm. An exceptionally rare pair of cups in outstanding condition. Johann Peter Melchior (1747–1825) became master modeler at the Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory in 1797. Portrait medallions in bisque porcelain and alabaster constituted the largest group of his works. The casting was carried out by Adam Clair (“AC”), among others. See “Johann Peter Melchior 1747–1825—Sculptor and Master Model Maker in Höchst, Frankenthal, and Nymphenburg,” Arachne-Verlag 1997, pp. 175 ff., in particular the portraits of the royal couple, Figs. 291/292 on p. 179 and Fig. 302 on p. 184, respectively, along with a portrait cup of the king in the Bavarian National Museum featuring a similar decorative style. Provenance: A gift from the royal couple to a friend, a physician and ornithologist, to whom Max I Joseph had also given the unique and significant coffee and tea service with parrot motifs from the Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory. See Hermann Historica, Auction 89, Lot 4266. Condition: I -