Lidded Vase with Lizard, H 24 cm

The systematic search for the feasibility of colour started in Meissen’s laboratories immediately after the invention of porcelain. The use of cobalt oxide finally produced the looked-for “bleu ordinaire”. It was only this precious material that could be used to adorn the white shapes with ornaments and designs in sublime paintings, and what was already rich was made richer still, and the fantastical could be made even more imaginative: at first lacklustre and grey when applied, then magically luminous after being fired under the glaze at 1,400 degrees Celsius. The enchanting “Lidded Vase with Lizard” was created for the Japanese Palace in Dresden; it has been part of the Meissen product line since 1722. As if just awoken, the delicately modelled lizard steps out of its artfully painted hiding place of blossoms and branches, and comes to life under the gaze of the connoisseur.