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The Sulkowski Charger -purchased by the NGV

We have found a number of outstanding items over the years, and many of these have left Australia for distant shores. It’s with great pleasure that we can announce the acquisition of our latest ‘Great Find’, the Sulkowski Charger, by our very local  National Gallery of Victoria.

Sulkowski Meissen Charger c. 1735-8
Sulkowski Service – Meissen Charger c. 1735-8

This is a large piece of porcelain, measuring 34.5cm across. It isn’t the largest from the service – there appears to be two sizes larger again – but it is an impressive piece, perfectly displaying the large & showy armorial device. It is this coat of arms that makes this so important; experts regard it as the earliest large-scale commission from the Meissen factory made for someone other than the owner of the works, Augustus II ‘The Strong’.

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These arms are depicting a marriage, with the two shields beneath the crown representing each family. On the left is Count von Sulkowski (1695-1762), the high ranking court official. On the right are the arms of Baroness Maria Franziska von Stein zu Jettingen (1712-41) who he married in 1728 and had 7 children with. The production of a service such as this 8 years later is almost like a delayed wedding gift for himself; usually they are contemporary with the wedding, but remember the context: Meissen, the first producer of porcelain in Europe, was still in its infancy in the 1720’s, and we could argue that a service of such elaborate sophistication would not have been possible as the capabilities of the Meissen works were not yet experienced enough.

 

Count-Sulkowski
Count-Sulkowski

Alexander Joseph Graf von Sulkowski  was Privy Councillor, Minister of State, and a Cabinet Minister to the King, Frederick Augustus. He was deeply involved in the Meissen factory, taking responsibility for the deliveries of porcelain to furnish the newly built ‘Porcelain Palace’ in Dresden, and also being responsible for the King’s treasure vaults in Dresden, known as the ‘Green Vaults’.

Augustus The Strong
Augustus II ‘The Strong’

His origins & ascent to power is a tale in itself. Born to Polish gentry, rumour has it his mother fell under the spell of Augustus II ‘The Strong’, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland ( and creator of the Meissen porcelain factory!). Augustus II  was known as ‘The Strong’ for his musculature, reinforced by his favourite party trick of apparently ripping iron horseshoes in half with his bare hands….. But there is another aspect to his nickname, the results of which were a debatable 354 illegitimate children!

Rumour has it that Alexander was one such child, and certainly Augustus II cared for the youth who came to the Royal Court at Warsaw in 1711 as a page. He entered the service of the crown prince, Frederick Augustus, who was one year younger, and they grew up together. He received his first title in 1712, ‘Master of the Horse’, and for the next seven years he & the Crown Prince went travelling through Italy, France, and the other German states. A couple of teenagers seeing the sights of Europe together, who can imagine what adventures they had…. certainly it would have been a bonding experience, and so Augustus was well established to rise in status in the court.  He became a ‘Gentleman of the Bedchamber’ in 1726, married a court Lady-in-waiting in 1728, and became a Count in 1732. On 1st February 1733, Augustus II ‘The Strong’ died, and his heir Frederick Augustus ascended the throne. Straight away, Alexander was made Privy Councillor, Minister of State, Cabinet Minister and an Imperial Count. He also became a Count of the Holy Roman Empire. He was a Pole, and the only Pole to achieve such a lofty position in the court at that time. Like a Shakespearian play, the scene was set for his fall.

Sulkowski Service Meissen Charger
Sulkowski Service Meissen Charger

What is fascinating is that this very service has been blamed for his descent; it was so much showier & desirable than the King’s own services, and more importantly, he had not asked permission from the King – the owner of the works – before putting in his order. Certainly, he lost favour at the exact same time the pieces began to be delivered, and so Sulkowski lost his many positions of privilege & responsibility to another of Frederick Augustus’s ministers, Heinrich Graf von Brühl. Brühl takes on most of Sulkowski’s titles, including Director of the Meissen works, and straight away commissions his own grand, Baroque service – the delightful & iconic ‘Swan Service’.

The National Gallery already has a magnificent charger from Brühl’s service, and these two marvelous Meissen chargers will soon be housed together in the same cabinet – graphic depictions of a government power struggle 290 years ago that centered on Meissen, Europe’s first porcelain maker.

To be continued in Part 2…… once the charger is in place in the NGV!

Sulkowski Meissen Charger c. 1735-8
Sulkowski Meissen Charger c. 1735-8
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From the Dawn of porcelain production in Europe….

‘China’ was for centuries an expensive, exotic import from the far East. There were many attempts at producing it in Europe, but it wasn’t until 1709 that the alchemist Johann Friedrich Böttger apparently ‘discovered’ the secret, and in 1709 he was responsible for the founding of the Meissen porcelain factory, under the direction – and funded by – Augustus II ‘The Strong’.  This was the first porcelain factory to make commercial amounts of porcelain in Europe, according to the authentic Chinese definition of ‘porcelain’ – and remarkably, it is still a functioning concern, being a state run business in Dresden in the modern age.

Albrechtsburg, Meissen
The Albrechtsburg, location of original Meissen factory.

The secret to making porcelain was kept for the next two decades, helped by the location of the factory, in the Albrechtsburg castle in Meissen, which is located on top of a hill with a single gatehouse for access. Workmen’s comings & goings were strictly controlled, and none knew the entire process to the mystery of porcelain production. However, the value of the product meant there were many other attempts in Europe to emulate Meissen’s success, and industrial espionage resulted in workmen being lured away from the works. This was instigated by a private businessman in Vienna, a Dutchman named Du Paquier, and he gives his name to the second porcelain works to be founded in Europe. He made his first limited examples in 1719, and for the next 25 years was the only real rival to Meissen for porcelain in Europe.

Böttger porcelain cup, Meissen,  circa 1715
The Dawn of European Porcelain: Meissen & Du Paquier

Moorabool is excited to be able to offer an example of porcelain from the infancy of each of these factories, the 1st and the 2nd to exist in Europe. On the left is a Meissen cup, of the early porcelain body known as ‘Böttger Porcelain’,  dating to c. 1715.  On the right is a Du Paquier cage cup/stand, circa 1725.

Böttger porcelain cup, Meissen, circa 1715
Böttger porcelain cup, Meissen, circa 1715
Du Paquier cage cup, circa 1725
Du Paquier cage cup, circa 1725

Both of these amazing rarities will be a part of our 2015 Catalogue, opening in Geelong & online on March 28th.
They will be the subject of their own page here in the near future, with more photos & in-depth history.