18th Century German Porcelain Trompe L’Oeil Asparagus Tureen

Details

Description

A bundle of asparagus that will never go limp: a German porcelain box and cover of about 1775, modeled as … Read more A bundle of asparagus that will never go limp: a German porcelain box and cover of about 1775, modeled as fat spears tied up with a bright blue ribbon, their tips flushed manganese purple, their cut ends a happy jumble of green and yellow discs. The ribbon runs right across the join, so with the cover on, the whole thing reads as one tied bundle — the joke only gives itself away when a dinner guest lifts the lid and finds a clean white well inside. Rococo tables loved this sort of thing: tureens dressed as vegetables, boxes dressed as fruit, a service that looked like a market stall.

Probably made in Thuringia, whose small porcelain factories turned out modeled table wares with exactly this loose, cheerful painting. It is unmarked, as such pieces usually are, with an old collector’s number inside the cover and a collection label under the base — somebody has treasured it before.

Six and a quarter inches of concentrated charm. Keep it on the table for butter or salt, on a kitchen shelf where it will make people smile, or give it to the best cook you know.

Dimensions
Height: 3.25 inches; Width: 6.25 inches; Depth: 4 inches See less