Rare Hochst Figures of Pantaloone and Pantalone
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A rare pair of Hochst figures of Pantaloone and Pantalone, circa 1752, modelled by J.C.L. Von Lucke, each figure from the Italian Comedy wearing a fur-lined hat, long black coat and iron-red costume, Pantalone with a dagger at his waist and red shoes, his companion wearing pale yellow shoes, each on a canted rectangular pedestal moulded at the front with a recessed panel and gilt and with a tree-stump support at the rear, wheel marks in iron-red to side of bases, height 21.7 cm and 20.5 cm. Provenance: The Emma Budge collection, Hamburg, sold by Hans W. Lange, Berlin, 27-29 September 1937, lots 849 and 850, acquired in the above auction by the city of Mainz, Restituted to the heirs of Emma Budge in 2013, Bonham's London, fine European ceramics, 18 June 2014, lot 157, acquired from the above, Exhibitions: Mainz, Landesmuseum, 1937-2013, inv. Nos. 38/36 & 37, Mainz, Landesmuseum, Mittelrheinische Kunstwerke aus sechs Jahrhunderten, 1954, Berlin, Charlottenburg Palace, Commedia dell'Arte Fest der Komodianten, 14 July-14 October 2001 (Pantaloone). Literature: Mainzer Zeitschrift 1939, p. 103, pl. X,1, Mittelrheinische Kunstwerke aus sechs Jahrhunderte, exhibition catalogue, 1954, no. 35, ill. 24, Esser, K.H., Hochster Fayencen und Porzellane, 1962, ill. 10, Esser, K.H./Reber, H., Hochster Fayencen und Porzellane, 1964, p. 17, no. 18, Jansen, R (ed.), Commedia dell'Arte, 2001, p.150 (Pantaloone). Other Notes: These models are attributed to the modeller Johann Christoph Ludwig von Lucke by Horst Reber in R. Jansen (ed.), 'The Commedia dell'arte at the Hochst Factory', op. Cit., p. 39-43 (p. 138-144 in the German language volume). Reber (page 41) suggests that Lucke, who was also active at the Meissen and Vienna factories, was influenced by the statues that stood in the garden of the Schonborn Palais in Vienna known through engravings of 1727 by Salomon Kleiner, These figures, are among the finest examples of these Hochst figures, and are distinguished by the exceptionally fine decoration and use of gilding on the pedestals, and their rarity suggests they were only produced by specific order in limited quantities.
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- Gilding - Gilding is a method of ornamentation whereby a thin sheet of gold metal is applied to items made of wood, leather, ceramics, glass and silver for decorative purposes.
For furniture including mirrors, the sheet of gold is usually applied over a coating of gesso. Gesso is a mixture of plaster of Paris and gypsum mixed with water and then applied to the carved wooden frames of mirrors and picture frames as a base for applying the gold leaf. After numerous coats of gesso have been applied, allowed to dry and then sanded a coat of "bole", a usually red coloured mixture of clay and glue is brushed on and allowed to dry, after which the gold leaf is applied. Over time parts of the gilding will rub off so the base colour can be seen. In water gilding, this was generally a blue colour, while in oil gilding, the under layer was often yellow. In Victorian times, gilders frequently used red as a pigment beneath the gold leaf.
Metal was often gilded by a process known as fire gilding. Gold mixed with mercury was applied and heated, causing the mercury to evaporate, the long-term effect of which was to kill or disable the craftsman or woman from mercury poisoning. The pursuit of beauty has claimed many victims, not the least of which were the artists who made those pieces so highly sought after today. - Attributed - A cataloguing term where the item in the opinion of the cataloguers, is a of the period of the artist, craftsman or designer, and which probably in whole or part is the work of that person.
- Circa - A Latin term meaning 'about', often used in the antique trade to give an approximate date for the piece, usually considered to be five years on either side of the circa year. Thus, circa 1900 means the piece was made about 1900, probably between 1895 and 1905. The expression is sometimes abbreviated to c.1900.
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