Pair Of Incense Burners From The Second Half Of The 19th Century By Meissen's August Rex And Helena Wolfsoh

An elegant pair of porcelain incense burners, made in Meissen and marked on the bottom with the initials "AR" ("August Rex") by HELENA WOLFSOHN from the second half of the 19th century, mounted on a gilded bronze base. The presence of a lid supported by an openwork ring indicates that these vases were designed to hold scented essences or dried petals, allowing the fragrance to diffuse into the room through the decorative openings. Cylindrical in shape, the vases and lids are made of hard-paste white porcelain, entirely hand-modeled and hand-painted. The quality of the craftsmanship in the details reflects the great Central European ceramic tradition, particularly that of Saxony—“Dresden or Meissen”—from the second half of the 19th century; however, based on the mark on the bottom, we can conclude that they were produced by Helena Wolfshon and date to the late 19th century “1880–1890.” The decorative scheme consists of two main elements that blend the Rococo style—in the paintings—with the Louis XVI style—in the bronze fittings. They feature continuous, horizontally unfolding landscape views, enlivened by small human figures. The lids are also decorated with landscape miniatures consistent with the body below, and the top is crowned with a refined knob serving as a handle, shaped like a rosebud in relief—a typical element of Saxon craftsmanship. The rims feature beautiful pastel blue shading, and pure gold details enrich the color transitions. The bronze mountings, in the refined “Louis XVI” style, feature an openwork band with geometric motifs that crowns the mouth of the vase beneath the lid. Elaborate double handles on the sides, also in gilded bronze, terminate in lion-head finials. The vase rests on a solid circular pedestal, also in gilded bronze, with a flared central stem that is entirely decorated, lending the structure a sense of height and dynamism. The stem rests on a molded circular base, which is also decorated along the rim with embossed palmette motifs. The entire piece is supported by four small, projecting plinth-like feet, each of which is embellished with a small relief mask depicting a sphinx’s head wearing an Egyptian headdress or a neoclassical deity.

PERIOD Second half of the 19th century

DIMENSIONS H. 19 cm x Max. diameter 11 cm x Max. width 15 cm

CONDITION Excellent condition, “perfect”