Spoon, Meissen porcelain and silver, Meissen, circa 1761
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
ca. 1761
Frederick stipulated in 1761 that his new service should be painted in the combination of the special red enamel and gold reserved at Meissen ‘for the Saxon ruler.’ The design and decoration were therefore in part taken from Saxon court services made for his subdued adversaries, and were politically charged.
The service was begun in 1761, and originally comprised 697 pieces, including 144 dinner plates and 48 soup plates. Dessert plates and possibly also the multi-part plat de ménage (centrepiece with lemon baskets and cruets) were added in 1763. In 1781 Frederick gave the service to General Wichard von Möllendorf, and as a consequence it is now generally known as the Möllendorf Service. Spoon with hard-paste porcelain handle, silver shaft and bowl.
Part of a dinner service (Möllendorf service), C.238 to 256-1921.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 2
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- Hard-paste porcelain with relief decoration, painted in enamels and gilt
- Dimensions
- Length: 210 mm (Approximate, measured by Conservation.)
Technical characteristics
- Maker recorded
- Karl Jacob Christian Klipfel; Meissen porcelain factory
- Place recorded
- Meissen
Design
- Marks and inscriptions
- Berlin hallmark, bear; 'WH'; 'FW' in script
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London collection record for this single object (sentences kept verbatim apart from removed sale or rarity wording); how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Candidate id
- vam-O1139455
- Museum object name
- Spoon
- Holding institution
- Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- Museum object number
- C.255D-1921
- Museum system number
- O1139455
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm the wider type, maker and dating against a specialist reference; this entry documents one recorded example.