Viennese Porcelain Design Watercolor, Alt-Wiener Porzellan Fabrik, Ca. 1840–1850

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An original watercolor design for a teacup and saucer, attributed to the Alt-Wiener Porzellan Fabrik, Vienna, circa 1840–1850. This finely … Read more An original watercolor design for a teacup and saucer, attributed to the Alt-Wiener Porzellan Fabrik, Vienna, circa 1840–1850. This finely executed drawing, used as a working prototype for painted porcelain decoration, combines stylized floral garlands, scrolling foliate flourishes, and gilded linear motifs on an orange ground. The exuberant floral ornament, with naturalistic sprays and climbing vines, reflects both the Viennese adaptation of Rococo revival taste and the influence of Meissen and Sèvres decoration on mid-century Viennese output. Such designs were executed by specialist draftsmen within the porcelain factory’s Entwurfsatelier, where artists prepared color elevations for the decorators to follow. The vivid palette, crisp outline, and rhythmic use of negative space suggest the transition from Biedermeier restraint toward the more opulent historicist idioms that dominated Viennese porcelain in the 1850s. Framed in giltwood with moiré blue silk backing.

Provenance: Ursus Prints Ltd., 981 Madison Avenue, New York City.
Measurements: 15.75 in w x 13.875 in h (framed). See less