Vase

The vase was made at the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory in Vienna at a time when Baron Konrad Sörgel von Sorgenthal ran it. His activities led to the flourishing of the factory; the wares reached a high technical and artistic level, gaining fame in Europe. The style of Viennese porcelain at that time was Classical, and its features can be seen in the form and decoration of the vases. Its surface is smooth, only the handle of the cover is artistically elaborated –the handles with a broken line refer in their shape to the Greek meander, the painting decoration is sparse, and golden contours add elegance. The designer intended to create a dignified, almost monumental vessel. The vase was set on a high pedestal so that it dominated the rest of the tableware and became a dominant accent of the table setting. It can be said that it is a typical vessel of the period as similar forms were also used at that time in other European factories. Both the shape and the type of decoration were popular with buyers and were therefore often imitated. Similar examples are also known from the Polish manufactories in Korzec and Baranówka. At that time, the concept of copyright did not exist, so borrowing was a common phenomenon. Sometimes the products of two manufacturers are distinguishable only by signatures.

Barbara Czajkowska