Lot 8 | Nymphenburg | DONNA MARTINA AND DOTTORE FROM THE 'COMMEDIA DELL'ARTE'

DONNA MARTINA AND DOTTORE FROM THE 'COMMEDIA DELL'ARTE'.

Nymphenburg.
Maker/Designer: Model F. A. Bustelli.
Technique: Porcelain, painted in colours and gold.
Measurement: Height 20cm.
Mark: Manufactory mark, embossed. 87 28/91 10, embossed. Painter's mark L13 16/D9119 13 83.

Literature:
- Dr. F. H. Hofmann, Franz Anton Bustelli - der Meistermodelleur von Nymphenburg, Munich 1927, pp. 254-313.
- Rückert, Rainer, Franz Anton Bustelli, Munich 1963, p. 19f.
- Modell und die besondere Staffage beschrieben und abgebildet in Bustelli, Nymphenburger Porzellanfiguren des Rokoko, Munich 2005, ill. 65, p. 82.

The Commedia dell'Arte was a popular theme for porcelain manufactories. As 'stand-up theatre' of the Italian middle class of the 16th century, the performed and popular theatre form was unique and a box office hit. It had only an approximate plot - a love story with numerous obstacles - with no set text. The characters improvised according to according to behaviour attributed to them. They were recognisable to the audience by their recognisable outfits and attributes to the audience. The plays improvised in this way were able to react to current political and social developments - a concept that helped the Commedia dell'Arte to rise from a popular theatre to a princely entertainment programme.
The larger porcelain figures listed here are based on the 'Commedia dell'Arte', the designs of Franz Anton Bustelli and have a particularly detailed staffage. There are a total of 16 comedy figures in his oeuvre - they represent the peak of his career. In 1760, the first lists of the Nymphenburg porcelain manufactory show Bustelli's preoccupation with the subject and list "16 Stukh Pantomin figures" and sizes of 6 inches (approx. 19cm). Thus the figures are distinguishable from those of other manufactories not only in number but also in dimension. They show, on an elegant base design with rocaille, eight ladies and eight gentlemen - mounted in pairs.