Toilet Box in the Form of a Shell

According to the royal commission, the gift to Prince-Bishop Lipski was to include a toilet service. However — understandably, in the case of a high-ranking cleric — it was never delivered and has remained in Dresden ever since.

The related box bears the Johanneum inventory number “N–339–w” (ibid., p. 35). The shell-shaped box from this service (inv. no. PE 616) matches our example exactly — aside from the missing Johanneum number and caduceus mark — and thus confirms the high regard for this model. No other examples are currently known.

Lipski played a key role in the election of Augustus III as King of Poland and was rewarded with several important porcelain gifts.

A comparable decoration appears on the five-lobed toilet box with stand in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (Den Blaauwen, no. 188, Oppenheimer Collection = Sotheby’s New York, 14 Sept. 2021, lot 34, approx. USD 277,000), as well as on two plates from the Klemperer Collection (nos. 124, 125).

In 2018, we acquired a quatrefoil sweetmeat bowl with the same decoration (see image below), which showed traces of an erased swords mark.

Decoration

The scene on our toilet box depicts a Japanese dancer in courtly attire, flanked by a pair of standing young courtiers — ladies or gentlemen — in the style of Japanese aristocrats.

As already noted, Meissen porcelains with this decoration are exceedingly rare. They were produced on commission for the Parisian dealer Rudolph Lemaire — as evidenced by the missing or unusual marks found on the known comparison pieces:

• The box from the Oppenheimer Collection bears a blue enamel crossed swords mark;
• Our former bowl shows traces of an erased crossed swords mark;
• The toilet box in the Dresden Porcelain Collection (Zwinger) bears both the Johanneum number and the caduceus mark.

All these variants strongly suggest that the porcelains were made to Lemaire’s specifications, in order to be sold on the Parisian luxury market as genuine Japanese works. The lacquer-like decoration (cf. Weber, vol. II, 2013, p. 321) further supports this interpretation.

Adam Friedrich von Löwenfinck

The rare Meissen decoration with Japanese dancers and their youthful admirers appears to have been a particular specialty of Löwenfinck. Typical features of his style include his distinctive palette of red, black, and gold, enriched with finely drawn internal contouring in gold.
The soft grey-dotted cloud and ground formations are likewise a hallmark of his hand, often used to define meadows, grounds, and narrative scenes.
A further signature element in his work is the large lateral flower shrub — a recurring motif distinguished by its exaggerated height and single-stemmed construction bearing oversized blossoms.