Antique Porcelain Plate with Mercury and Paris Painting from the Imperial Manufactory of Vienna, Austria, Mid-1800s

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Description

Item description:
Polychrome vitrified hard-paste porcelain saucer, entirely hand-decorated and finished in pure gold, depicting the mythological scene of the … Read more Item description:
Polychrome vitrified hard-paste porcelain saucer, entirely hand-decorated and finished in pure gold, depicting the mythological scene of the god Mercury delivering the golden apple to the Trojan prince Paris. The plate is signed on the back with a shield with three blue lines under enamel and numbered with the number "3." This mark was used by the Imperial Manufactory in Vienna between the 18th and 19th centuries. The object can be dated to around the mid-19th century, as confirmed by the evident antique patina, especially on the back. The rich decorations on the entire rim of the saucer in pure gold and enamels of various colors, all in relief, are fabulous, not to mention the beauty of the central decoration made with a brush tip, a true painting on porcelain.

Useful information for evaluating the item:
In the photos immediately below this description, we have included some historical notes on the Imperial Manufactory in Vienna, with many of the marks used, including ours, number 9 to be precise. Our research shows that the Imperial Manufactory in Vienna boasts impressive auction results, with items fetching very high prices. We found a small breakfast service from the 1700s, auctioned by Christie's with an estimate of £40,000-60,000, large vases valued at over €20,000, and several porcelain sculptures from the 1700s sold for over €6,000, just to give you an idea of the value of porcelain from this manufacturer. It should be noted that the items with the highest prices are precisely those with decorations very similar to our saucer. Even simple cups or small saucers, or small jars, with decorations similar to our saucer, receive very high prices. For plates similar to ours, requests on other leading online sales platforms for art and antiques range from €400-500 to almost €3,000, depending on the size, decoration, and age of the plate offered. Our plate is not particularly large, but it has a decoration of the highest quality.

Information about artist and/or manufacturer:
The Imperial Porcelain Manufactory in Vienna was a porcelain manufacturer based in Vienna, which existed from 1718 to 1864. After the Elector of Saxony had founded the Meissen Manufactory, Emperor Charles VI granted Claudius Innocentius du Paquier a 25-year privilege for the manufacture of porcelain in 1718, the year in which the manufactory was founded. It is therefore considered the second oldest European hard-paste porcelain manufactory after Meissen. It boasts numerous important auction results and many of its pieces are preserved in various museums around the world.


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