A Meissen octagonal plate, circa 1740. Provenance: The property
of Lord Biddulph
Well
decorated with ladies and gentleman standing before the wall of
a grand house, beside a lake, a central tree and figures in the
background beside a church. With underglaze blue cross swords
mark and impressed '22'
The central image for this plate is derived from a series of
engravings by Melchoir Kusel for Verschieden ansichte in Italien,
Carnthen und Friul published by Johann Wilhelm Bauer in Augsburg
in 1679. The waste bowl of the service is dated 1740.
The
early history of this service is unknown, although it was thought
to have been purchased in Paris by William Henry Miller c1840,
from a member of the Orleans family.
The
service was recognised when sixty-two pieces from the Estate of
Samuel Christie-Miller were sold by Sotheby's in 1970. The plate
has been in the Biddulph family since the time of the 1st Baron
Biddulph (1834-1923).
Modelled
as the map seller by J. J. Kaendler after a drawing by Bouchardon.
