Lot 165 | KPM | MONUMENTAL PORCELAIN CENTRE PIECE 'BIRTH OF BEAUTY'

MONUMENTAL PORCELAIN CENTRE PIECE 'BIRTH OF BEAUTY'.

KPM. Berlin.

Date: Moulding 1949-2000.
Maker/Designer: Model Paul Scheurich, 1939.
Technique: Porcelain, white.
Description: The centre piece consists of 13 sculptures of the 17 originally designed and 15 ultimately
realised sculptures. These include the centre piece 'the pearl' ('die Perle'), two large
riding figurines with naiad, a large riding figurine with Triton on hippocampi, four putti
riding on small dolphins and five putti sitting on sea foam pedestals.
Measurement: Height of the putti 18cm, Height of the hippocampi ensembles 38/40/42cm, Height of 'the pearl' 55,5cm.
Mark: Sceptre mark, painted blue under glaze. Three times manufacture mark with 'S' for 1944-1957. Various porcelain former's marks and numbers.

Provenance:
Private collection Rhineland

Literature:
- Köllmann, Erich: Berliner Porzellan 1763-1963, Braunschweig 1966. For the centre piece see vol.I, p. 153ff.
- Lechelt, Christian: Porzellan und Politik, Der Tafelaufsatz "Geburt der Schönheit" von Paul Scheurich, Saarbrücken 2011

The large centre piece 'Birth of Beauty' ('Geburt der Schönheit') was realised according to the drawing design by Paul Scheurich, from 1939. The production books list a total of 15 objects whose whereabouts were unknown for a long time. 13 of these pieces make up the centre piece presented here. Its theme reflects Scheurich's interpretation of the "Venus Anadyomene", as he took it from Hesiod's Theogony. In this, the goddess Venus is born from the foam of the sea and is paid homage to by Tritons and Nereids through the gift of pearls and precious items from the sea. Scheurich interprets the pure white material of the porcelain body as the birth material of beauty - here it is like the sea and forms the divine body.
Scheurich also based the formal language of his centre piece on the painting "Die Geburt der Venus" by Bouguerau: The naked, athletic goddess wears long, waving hair and is accompanied by small chubby-cheeked putti riding on dolphins and shells; in her wake are large hippocampi carrying the athletic, slender athletic Tritons and Nereids. They pay homage to beauty through the gift of pearls and precious items.