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Lot 152

A pair of Meissen figures of pilgrims, circa 1755

14 June 2017, 14:00 BST
London, New Bond Street

Sold for £1,375 inc. premium

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A pair of Meissen figures of pilgrims, circa 1755

The man dressed in a yellow jacket and green breeches, an elaborate black collar and hat adorned with pilgrim's shells, holding a money-box in one hand and his pilgrim's staff and attached flask in the other, she with a turquoise skirt and puce jacket with similar large collar adorned with scallop shells, the shells continuing on the edge of her jacket, holding a money box and a wooden cross with attached flask, both on a gilt rocaille base with applied leaves and flowers, 16cm high (restored) (2)

Footnotes

Provenance:
Brigitte Britzke Collection, Bad Pyrmont

Literature:
La Porcelana de Meissen en la Colección Britzke/Das Meissner Porzellan der Britzke-Sammlung, exhibition catalogue (2009), p. 419

Exhibited:
Fundación Caja Segovia, La Porcelana de Meissen en la Colección Britzke 1709-1765, 16 July to 18 November 2009

These pilgrims wear scallop shells, which have long been the symbol of the Camino de Santiago, perhaps the most famous pilgrim destination in Europe. The scallop shell acts as a metaphor in several ways. The grooves in the shell, which meet at a single point, represent the various routes pilgrims travelled, eventually arriving at a single destination: the tomb of James in Santiago de Compostela. The shell can also be seen as a symbol of God's omnipresence for the pilgrim: As the waves of the ocean wash scallop shells up onto the shores of Galicia, God's hand guides the pilgrims to Santiago.

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