214 - Magnificent imperial KPM Berlin vase depicting the Old Palace

Magnificent imperial KPM Berlin vase depicting the Old Palace So-called Renaissance-style handle vase. Set on an octagonal, stepped base with an etched vermicelli pattern, the vase features a raised round foot, an ovoid body with a rounded shoulder, a stepped, indented neck with a compressed node, and a flaring rim. On both sides, relief-carved, gilded handles made of bisque porcelain featuring a winged panther’s head, curving upward from palmette bases. Royal blue background. On the front, a recessed, wide, gold-etched image field, crowned by the imperial crown entwined with laurel. Depicting the Kaiser Wilhelm Palace on Unter den Linden in Berlin with the royal standard hoisted and the equestrian statue of Frederick the Great (the so-called “Old Palace”). Fine polychrome painting with rich gilding. Designed by Julius Wilhelm Mantel, 1860. Minor repairs; firing cracks. Scepter and painter’s mark. Height: 52.5 cm. Such ceremonial vases, featuring views framed by laurel branches and crowned by the imperial crown, were reserved for the Prussian court and were commissioned by William I of Prussia as personal gifts for figures “loyal to the emperor.” Ponert, Cat. Berlin Museum, No. 130 (form); cf. Dietz, Sabet Collection, p. 180f (form). Provenance: From the dissolution of a private collection in Berlin. A large, splendid porcelain vase with a crowned view of Kaiser Wilhelm Palace (“Old Palace”). Minor scuffs. Firing crack. Scepter and painter’s mark. KPM-Berlin. Circa 1871–1888.