A MEISSEN PLATE FROM THE ‘MÖLLENDORFF SERVICE’, circa 1761, of 'preußisch-musikalischen' form, moulded with alternating panels of musical, floral and military trophies within gilt cartouches, the centre painted with a spray of oriental flowers in iron-red, the border with an iron-red scale ground and gilt dentil rim, 26.5cm diameter, crossed swords mark in underglaze-blue, impressed numeral 36

PROVENANCE: Private German collection.

FOOTNOTES: During the Seven Years' War, the Prussian King Frederick the Great ordered a service with iron-red scale borders “und zwar von der Couleur, welche des Königs von Pohlen Majt. vorzüglich lieben, mit Gold untermischet (...of the colour that His Majesty the King of Poland loves above all, mixed with gold)”, decorated with designs from his own hand. The flowers were presumably painted by Karl Jakob Christian Klipfel (1727-1802). The service was delivered on 7 April 1761. The service is likely to have been gifted by Frederick the Great to General Joachim Wichard Heinrich von Möllendorff (1724-1816), and subsequently became known as the 'Möllendorff service'.

The service was sold by the Möllendorff family around 1925 to the dealer Hermann Ball. For a similar plate see ‘Meissener Porzellan des 18. Jahrhunderts ays Bad Pyrmonter Privatbesitz’, exhibition catalogue (2002), p.125. See also the pair of dishes fromtheWark Collection illustrated by Ulricht Pietsch, 'Early Meissen Porcelain' (2011), p.483, cats.574-5. Several other pieces of the service are in the collection of Dr. Ernst Schneider in Schloß Lustheim. A tureen and cover is in the Grassi Museum in Leipzig (see D. Gielke, ‘Meissener Porzellan’ (2003), cat.287).