19th Century Neo-Rococo Porcelain Noble Dandy Figurine from Ginori Doccia, Italy, 1800s

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Description

Measurements:
height: 16 cm; width: 9 cm; depth: 7 cm

item :
a refined, glazed, and entirely hand-decorated hard-paste porcelain … Read more Measurements:
height: 16 cm; width: 9 cm; depth: 7 cm

item :
a refined, glazed, and entirely hand-decorated hard-paste porcelain sculpture depicting an 18th-century nobleman in a proud and supple pose. The work bears the famous cobalt blue underglaze handwritten mark of the letter "n" surmounted by a five-pointed crown under the base, dating to the late 19th century (circa 1880-1890). Although the iconography of the mark historically recalls the royal factory of capodimonte, the specific shape of the crown, with its sparse points, identifies the official trademark registered and used by the ginori doccia factory for its exclusive late-19th-century historicist line. In the photos, immediately below this , we've included some historical notes on the manufacture, taken from one of our french volumes, with many of the marks used, including our own, specifically the number 19, used, as stated in the notes, in the late 19th century. The underside of the base offers the ultimate proof of the piece's historicity: the rough base shows typical blackening from firing in the kilns of the time and bears the remnants of an ancient paper cartouche oxidized with yellowed bone glue, a fascinating trace of an old inventory record or the object's participation in a past auction. In the final decades of the 19th century, ginori masterfully reinterpreted these subjects, blending the graceful sculptural beauty of the 18th century with the chemical perfection and skill in micro-decorations that made tuscan porcelain famous at the great universal expositions. The work stands out for its extraordinary technical and pictorial virtuosity: the deep plum-colored jacket contrasts beautifully with the trousers with vertical ochre and carmine red stripes and with a sumptuous vest enriched with a millefiori motif executed entirely with brushstrokes. A particularly fine detail is the application of delicate openwork porcelain lace along the cuffs, the collar jabot, the pockets, and the brim of the black tricorne hat held under the arm; this effect was achieved by dipping real lace into slip before firing, allowing the fabric to burn in the kiln to reveal the vitrified skeleton. The facial features are meticulously painted, enhancing the period makeup with flushed cheeks and thin eyebrows. The sculpture rests on a rococo rocaille base highlighted in pure gold and supported on the back by a faux tree trunk with moss in relief, a structural device essential to prevent the glass from flexing at high temperatures.

artist and/or manufacturer information:
the doccia factory, founded in 1735 by marquis carlo ginori in the tuscan town of the same name near sesto fiorentino, represents one of the absolute and most glorious pillars of the history of european porcelain. Established at the same time as the great royal factories of meissen and sèvres, doccia immediately distinguished itself for its cutting-edge chemical research into "faux porcelain" and its unmistakable "mass bastard," a unique body that gave the works a dense, sculptural texture of extraordinary charm. Under the guidance of the ginori family for over a century and a half, the factory successfully blended the rigor of late baroque and renaissance florentine sculpture with the lightness of rococo, employing outstanding master craftsmen and painters. In 1896, the company merged with the milanese industrial group of augusto richard, creating the celebrated richard-ginori: a partnership that propelled the factory into twentieth-century modernity, culminating in the 1920s with the extraordinary artistic direction of renowned architect and designer gio ponti. The company's most significant artistic achievements and institutional recognition are linked to its constant presence at the great universal expositions of the nineteenth century (from london to paris), where doccia porcelain won over judges worldwide with the perfection of its glazes and incredible skill in pictorial micro-decorations. Among the greatest commercial and artistic successes of the second half of the 19th century was precisely this historicist approach: richard-ginori acquired the models and inherited the trademarks of historic factories closing down (such as the neapolitan models of the royal factory of capodimonte), reproducing them with technical quality, sharpness of detail, and virtuosity of execution, such as the application of the extremely fragile perforated porcelain lace, which sometimes surpassed the 18th-century originals. Today, the centuries-long history of this artistic institution (currently known as ginori 1735) is celebrated worldwide; its period creations are the subject of international study and are proudly displayed in the decorative arts departments of the world's greatest museums, including the victoria and albert museum in london, the metropolitan museum of art in new york, and the richard-ginori museum of the doccia manufactory. In the last photo we have added additional historical notes on the manufacture for those who wish to delve deeper, taken from one of our specialized volumes in french, with many of the marks used including ours, precisely the number 19, used at the end of the 19th century, as written in the notes. This piece has an attribution mark,
i am sure that it is completely authentic and take full responsibility for any authenticity
issues arising from misattribution See less