Antique Meissen Porcelain Marcolini Period Lidded Sauce Tureen with Artichoke Handle circa 1800 gilded & hand painted flowers or Deutsche blumen

A very stylish quality antique, decorative, hard paste Meissen porcelain lidded sauce tureen with beautifully modelled artichoke handle, decorated with hand painted flowers (Deutsche blumen) and gilding. The tureen is of a footed rounded diamond shape, sometimes referred to as boat shaped. It is painted in poly-chrome enamels with an applied artichoke as the finial to the lid. There are gilded rococo scrolls to the ends of the lid and a slot in which to fit a ladle.

There is an underglaze cobalt blue maker's mark of crossed swords with an asterisk or star beneath. This mark relates to the Marcolini period at Meissen 1774 to 1814. This period of production of Meissen porcelain takes its name from Count Camillo Marcolini who was Prime Minister of the German kingdom of Saxony, where the Meissen factory was located, who was also named director of the Meissen works in 1774, a position he held until 1814. The tureen we believe dates to around 1800.

The sauce tureen base in excellent antique condition, The lid unfortunately has been broken into four pieces and glued back together, the artichoke finial has a small chip to one leaf, there is a repair or restoration to the left hand scroll with the slot, minor rubbing to the gilding on the rim. No stand. Please see the images. A nice example for a collector of Marcolini Meissen porzellan.

Overall Height 5 1/4 inches ( 13.5 cm)
Length 6 1/2 inches ( 16.6 cm)
Width 4 1/2 inches ( 14.0 cm)
Weight 659 grammes unpacked