Limited Masterworks Irminger-Sprigged Vase with Long-Tailed Monkey Scenery

With this vase, MEISSEN returns to the earliest years of the manufactory and to the era of Johann Jacob Irminger, court goldsmith to Dresden and the manufactory's first master modeller. Designed after the stylistic models of European silver services, the vase was first produced as early as 1715 and ranks among the earliest white porcelain vessels ever created. Alongside a purely white version, its richly sculpted decoration, reminiscent of elaborate silverwork, has been enhanced for the "Limited Masterpieces" collection with opulent painting in deep, muted shades of blue that flows through the recessed spaces between the relief elements.

For the monkey scene, Otto Drögsler drew inspiration from a historical engraving preserved in the Meissen archives depicting groups of monkeys during the grape harvest. Arranged in narrative compositions among the applied grapes and vine leaves, the monkeys enter into a continuous dialogue with the sculptural elements of the vase.

The flat pictorial treatment and monochrome execution evoke associations with French toile de Jouy fabrics. Unlike repeating textile patterns, however, the decorative motifs do not recur. Combined with the technical challenge of painting behind and in part beneath the delicate sculptural elements, this process demands the highest level of skill from the porcelain painters.

The result is a richly detailed and vibrant jungle scene that gradually reveals itself to the viewer through the dense vine foliage in a series of evocative glimpses.