Dresden porcelain cup & saucer applied flowers hand painted insects antique late 19th C - lobed shape on six stilt feet - Meissen style - monogram JR

A pretty decorative late 19th century Meissen style small cabinet cup and saucer made in a lobed form with scalloped edge. Each stand on on six short stilt legs or stalk feet about 1/4 inch long.  The cup has a bifurcated or split top handle made in the form of a twisted band of twigs tied at the base with a small blue ribbon. The bodies are painted with small floral sprigs and insects, with a larger flower in the centre of the saucer and a pink spray inside the centre of the cup. The outside of the cup and the underside of the saucer are further decorated with sprays of applied flowers and leaves that have been naturalistically coloured in enamels. Some collectors may refer to this as floral encrusted porcelain.

This floral encrusted style was popular in the early 19th century with makers such as Coalport (Coalbrookdale) and  Minton imitating Bow from the 18th century. In Germany Meissen made floral encrusted items along with the Schneeballen (snowball) white flower encrusted ceramics.

The body is very white and is quite thickly potted. The base of each item has an underglaze blue monogram mark of a combined J R, which is a loose imitation of the Augustus Rex AR mark used by Meissen. This mark is also very similar to that used by Joseph Gaspard Robert's factory in "hors la porte de Rome" in Marseille, France during the late 18th century (1760-1794), however, the style and decoration do not match that of this factory. We are currently unsure of the actual maker but are confident to say that this is Dresden Porcelain from one of the many smaller factories in the late 19th century, circa 1880, that were competing with the likes of Helena Wolfsohn. The cup and saucer have different decorators numbers but are a true pair.

The cup on the saucer stands 2 1/2 inches ( 6.4 cm) high and is 2 3/8 inches ( 6 cm) in diameter at the rim. The saucer stands 13/16 inches (1.9 cm) high and is 4 5/8 inches (11.7 cm) in diameter at the rim.  A total unpacked weight of 235 grammes.

Condition:  Good antique condition. Some minor fritting to the glaze and wear to the gilding, usual minor losses to the applied flowers. One of the legs on the saucer has been broken off and glued back into place. No other chips, cracks nor restoration. Please see the images.

This is a lovely piece to display among any collection of antique German porcelain, Meissen style cabinet cups and saucers or applied floral porcelain.