In Part II of its sale of the important Marouf Collection, Bonhams saw strong results for a Meissen Hausmaler grotesque teapot.
 The teapot is prized as an early piece, created before the famous crossed swords logo was introduced in 1720 |
The early piece led bids on May 2 in London, selling for £109,250 ($169,984). The teapot's unusual form is based on an engraving by Jacques Stella, which was published in Livre des Vases (1667).
The model is first mentioned at the Meissen Factory in 1719, only nine years after porcelain production had began at the Meissen factory, and just prior to the famous crossed swords logo being introduced.
The Marouf Collection is one of the most important single-owner amassments of early Meissen porcelain in the world. In the first sale at Bonhams, a rare half-figure service sold for £541,250 ($872,156), as perhaps the finest example of Meissen chinoiserie painting extant.
Bringing the second highest bids on May 2 was another rare piece - a Meissen ecuelle and cover from the Swan service, which was produced circa 1740. Modelled by JF Eberlein and JJ Kaendler, the piece features a domed cover surmounted by a swan and three putti, child-like figures commonly found in art that are separate from cherubim.
On May 1, Sotheby's auctioned Property from the Collection of Sir Gawaine and Lady Baillie, with a spectacular Meissen figure of a monkey taking snuff standing as top lot at £818,500 ($1.2m) - a 104.6% increase on estimate.
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