Limited Masterworks Pot Views of Saxony

This extraordinary pot is far more than an artfully crafted porcelain vessel - it is an impressive testament to the early history of European porcelain and to the creative beginnings of the MEISSEN manufactory. Its form was first created around 1719 in precious Böttger stoneware. Its distinctive, almost architectural design clearly reflects the influence of contemporary pewter vessels, which served as models for early MEISSEN modellers. It is precisely this combination of traditional craftsmanship and the search for a new European language of porcelain that gives the form its special historical significance. At the beginning of the 18th century, tea, coffee and chocolate entered European courtly culture as precious luxury beverages. The vessels created for them were correspondingly small, refined and of the highest quality. It is no longer known with certainty which drink this pot was originally intended for - a mystery that lends it an additional aura of elegance. The exceptionally fine landscape painting depicts two important sites in Saxon history: Albrechtsburg Castle in Meissen, the first production site of European porcelain, and Moritzburg Castle, the magnificent hunting lodge of Augustus the Strong. Executed with great mastery and the finest attention to detail, the views appear like miniature memories of the splendour of the Saxon Baroque. In its rare combination of historic form, virtuoso craftsmanship and narrative painting, this pot embodies the very soul of early MEISSEN porcelain.