Sophie von der Goltz
Head of Sale
Lot 154
A Meissen clock case, circa 1920-23
2 December 2025, 13:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street£3,000 - £5,000
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Nette Megens
Head of Department, Director
Sebastian Kuhn
Department Director
Raphael Machiels
Associate Specialist
Ghislaine Howard
Sale Coordinator
A Meissen clock case, circa 1920-23
Modelled by Paul Scheurich, in the form of two putti seated on blue cushions with gilt trellis patterns supporting a cylindrical clock case, the canted, shaped rectangular base painted on the surface with a purple foliate trellis pattern and raised on four purple ball feet, the porcelain pendulum weight moulded with a sunburst and striped in blue and gilding, 36.5cm high; 59cm across; 24cm deep, crossed swords mark in underglaze-blue to underside of base and to two of the ball feet, crossed swords mark in blue to rear of pendulum, incised model number F.270, impressed former's number 48, painter's number 69 in green (one toe cleanly restuck)
Footnotes
In early 1918, Max Adolf Pfeiffer succeeded in securing a contractual agreement with Paul Scheurich, binding the artist to the Meissen manufactory. Under the terms of this arrangement, Scheurich was obliged to offer all of his porcelain models as well as the designs for their decoration first and foremost to the Meissen factory. If they declined, he was allowed to have it made by a different manufactory. In return he not only received the purchase price from the factory, but also a royalty from any sales proceeds for several years to come. Additionally, he was granted permission to produce several bronze casts for personal use (see Johannes Rafael, Paul Scheurich 1883-1945 Porzellane für die Meissener Manufaktur, Meissener Manuskripte, Sonderband VIII, 1995, p. 13). On 1 November 1918 Max Adolf Pfeiffer became the new director of the now state-run Meissen manufactory.
Alongside new designs, Scheurich submitted several pre-existing models to Meissen, including the clock case in question. The model was completed by 1915, and several bronze examples had already been sold by the time the Meissen manufactory purchased it in August 1919 for RM 3,500. It was produced in porcelain by 1920 and coloured according to Scheurich's design. The first example was sold in September 1921 and the model was offered with different types of decoration; it was a commercial success and by the end of 1931 85 had been sold (Rafael, op cit., 1995, no. 6).
Another example was in the Prof. J. Rafael Collection, sold at Bonhams Paris, 14 April 2022, lot 17.