Footnotes

Provenance:
Gift from Augustus III, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, to Pope Benedict XIV in May 1743;
Andreina Torre collection of saucers, sold by Semenzato, Venice, May 1989, lot 147

The gift in 1743 of a tea, coffee and chocolate service from Augustus III to Pope Benedict XIV (1675-1758) has been discussed in detail by Maureen Cassidy-Geiger (Fragile Diplomacy (2007), pp. 230-231). The gift is one of many examples of Meissen porcelain that serve to illustrate not only its importance and value as diplomatic gifts, but also the strong ties between Rome and the newly Catholic ruling dynasty in Saxony.

The gift was presented to the Pope in the garden of the Quirinale Palace in May 1743, as reported by the Roman chronicle Diario ordinario on 18 May: Sunday morning the most excellent Signor Cardinal Annibale Albani San Clemente, Protector of the Kingdom of Poland, went to [the Palazzo del] Quirinale to present to The Holiness of Our Lord [Benedict XIV] a most beautiful gift sent here by the Majesty of the King of Poland to His Holiness himself, consisting of three very refined services for chocolate, tea and coffee of the finest Saxon porcelain with gold borders and with the arms of His Beatitude, who received it with special pleasure; and in connection with the giving of this gift, being from the Kingdom [of Poland] came two Polish miners in gold and silver [costumes], who were also presented at the same time time to the Holy Father, who had the kind condescension to allow them to kiss his feet in the garden of the Quirinale where he was taking a walk (quoted by Cassidy-Geiger, p. 231).

The miners were in fact on a mission to advise the Papal State on the viability of mines. The porcelain service they delivered served both to illustrate the qualities of Saxon porcelain, and, with a depiction of the Catholic Hofkirche in Dresden as it would look when it was finished, to symbolise the progress of Catholicism in Protestant Saxony (Cassidy-Geiger, p. 231).

A teabowl and saucer and the teapot from the service were in the Hoffmeister Collection, sold in these Rooms, 26 May 2010, lot 74 and 24 November 2010, lot 89; the slop bowl is in the Arnhold Collection, New York (M. Cassidy-Geiger, The Arnhold Collection of Meissen Porcelain (2008), no. 161), and the coffee pot, sugar bowl, teapot stand and six teabowls and saucers, are in the Ludwig Collection in Bamberg (R. Hanemann (pub.), Goldchinesen und Indianische Blumen (2010), no. 73). Another coffee cup and saucer was sold by Sotheby's Milan from the Vivolo Collection, 13 November 2007, lot 144.