Painted on the front with an image of ‘The Peacock Pheasant from China’, after the engraving from George Edwards’, A Natural history of uncommon birds and of some other rare and undescribed animals (1743). A flowering branch on the reverse.

The strapwork border patterns around the neck and the base of the vase are painted in the distinctive style of the Aufenwerth workshop and are a close match to examples of their work on both porcelain and Künersberg faience.

Our vase

Border pattern from the Hosennestel Service

Our vase

Border pattern from the base of a Künersberg vase decorated in the Aufenwerth workshop

Ornithological subjects are not generally associated with the Aufenwerth workshop on porcelain, but there are examples of related ornithological decoration on Künersberg faience vases attributed to the Aufenwerth workshop, that are stylistically similar and also in the manner of George Edwards engravings. ^[1]

Künersberg vase from a north German collection

George Edward’s great work was published in French in 1743 and then as Johann Seligmann’s Sammlung verschiedener ausländischer und seltener Vögel in Nuremberg in 1749 and is considered to have been one of the most influential works on ornithology. It is likely that the images would have been available in Augsburg.

Der chinesische Phasanenpfau, Johann Seligmann’s Sammlung verschiedener ausländischer und seltener Vögel (1749)

Ornithological decoration is also found on Meissen porcelain around this time, for example on the Northumberland service and also on some AR vases.^[2] Those however are derived from A natural history of birds by Eleazar and Elizabeth Albin (1738), a copy of which was acquired by the Meissen factory in 1745. While the source is different, it shows that ornithological decoration was in favour at the time.

Condition:
old firing crack in base

Provenance:

Ehlen Collection, Sotheby’s 6 March 2024

Sold