quarta-feira, 13 de maio de 2015

The Beauty of Porcelain

Meissen Porcelain in Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin


Yesterday at lunch time there was a long conversation about porcelain and its decorative art in different countries.


Although the Portuguese porcelain factory Vista Alegre was mentioned, I couldn´t help thinking of the beautiful pieces I have already admired not only in shops but also in museums.





Christmas wreath with VA porcelain cups















Casa-Malhoa” was purchased in 1932 by Dr António Anastácio Gonçalves (1888-1965), a Portuguese eye doctor, to organize his collection in this space, which includes a vast collection of Chinese porcelain. 
( Portuguese paintings by Silva Porto are not to be missed, too).












 Santos Palace (Embassy of France in Lisbon)














The famous porcelain ceiling with XVI and XVII plates




Charlottenburg Palace (Schloss Charlottenburg) in Berlin


The original palace was commissioned by Sophie Charlotte, the wife of Friedrich I of Prussia as a Summer Palace. When she died in 1705 her husband named the palace and its estate Charlottenburg in her memory.

Here we can admire the world-renowned collection of KPM porcelain ( Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur - Royal Porcelain Factory in Berlin) and a huge collection of Chinese porcelain.







In 1763, Frederick II officially became the manufactory’s owner. For his palaces alone he ordered 21 dinner services, each of them with 36 place settings and up to 500 separate parts complimented by elaborate table centerpieces.



For Frederick the Great (Frederick II) like his predecessors, silver and gold table services represented an essential means for displaying power.






The services he commissioned from the Meissen porcelain manufactory included a multitude of different forms.




In the 17th and 18th centuries meals were served “à la française”: the whole table was spread with tureens, dishes, platters and bowls containing all sorts of food.






Royal Copenhagen Denmark


  
Prices were so high I couldn´t afford any of the beautiful pieces.








Christianborg Palace, Denmark



The last time Queen Margrethe had the table laid with Flora Danica was in 1990, when her mother turned 80.




Hofburg Palace, Vienna




The former imperial palace was the residence  of the Habsburg dynasty.

The overdecoration of the tables showed the power of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.



18th century Meissen porcelain


Augarten Porcelain in the Embassy of Austria

Augarten hand-painted box




XIX century Sèvres jewellery box

I bought this beautiful plate in St. Petersburg-Hermitage museum. It is a copy of a 18th century plate.

I found this Vista Alegre set in an antique shop in USA


Royal Worcester fine bone china (from 1945)




In January, when I visited Budapest I was offered this beautiful green Herend box with a rose bud on the top.









19th century box from Bohemia

A beautiful VA piece that decorates my home


Vista Alegre e Atlantis



References:

 http://historiaschistoria.blogspot.pt/2015/08/porcelana-da-vista-alegre.html



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