Pair of Meissen porcelain cruet stands, Marcolini period (1774–1814)

Pair of polychrome Meissen porcelain cruet stands enriched with gold
This exquisite pair of oval-shaped Meissen porcelain cruet stands features vibrant polychrome decoration with gold highlights. The rims are adorned with garlands of flowers and foliage tied with delicate blue ribbon bows. The sloped walls and basin are decorated with finely painted insects, including ants, mosquitoes, ladybirds, and butterflies, each rendered in diverse polychrome hues. The cruet stands exhibit a rococo-inspired design, with a rich pink ground lavishly accented with gold. At their centres, delicate paintings of perched birds stand out, showcasing vivid colours and astonishing realism.

Both pieces bear Meissen’s underglaze blue crossed swords with a star, marking the Marcolini period (1774–1814), under the directorship of Camillo Marcolini.

Condition report:
Excellent condition, with no chips, cracks, or restorations.

Similar bird motifs can be found on pieces from the same service held in the Lesley and Emma Schaefer collection, now part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York [1].

[1] METROPOLITAN MUSEUM, New York – Teacups and saucer, sugar bowl, coffeepot, teapot… (part of a service), Meissen Manufactory ca. 1780-85, 1974.356.462 et suiv.


Historical context:
Count Camillo Marcolini-Ferretti (2 April 1739, Fano – 10 July 1814, Prague) was an Italian statesman and patron of the arts who served the Saxon court. At the age of 13, he was sent to the Dresden court as a page, recommended by Pope Benedict XIV. Marcolini quickly gained the trust of the future elector Frederick Augustus III, rising to key positions: chamberlain in 1767, privy councillor in 1772, grand chamberlain in 1778, and master of the horse in 1799.

In 1774, he was appointed director of the Meissen porcelain manufactory, introducing the famous “Marcolini mark” of crossed blue swords with a star. By 1780, he also became director of the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts, overseeing the royal court’s art collections.

In 1778, Marcolini married Baroness Anna O’Kelly, a descendant of King James Stuart. He was also deeply involved in agriculture and landscape design, transforming the Brühl Palace in Dresden in a neoclassical style and building the Waldschlösschen, a hunting lodge surrounded by an English-style park, for his wife in 1790. After Saxony’s defeat at the Battle of Nations in 1813, Marcolini accompanied the king into exile and passed away in Prague in 1814.

Museum references:
In addition to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, some of the world’s most prestigious museums house Meissen porcelain from the Marcolini period. These include:
• The Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Museum in London
• The National Ceramics Museum in Sèvres
• The Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris
• The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam
• The Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
• The Wellington Museum in Brussels
• The Sisi Museum at the Hofburg in Vienna
• The Marton Museum in Zagreb
• The Harvard Art Museums
• The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge