MONUMENTAL PORCELAIN VASE ''BELLE ALLIANCE'' WITH PEDESTAL.
Thuringia. In the manner of Capodimonte. In the manner of Capodimonte.

Porcelain; enriched in colours and gold. Octagonal; once stepped base pedestal. Crossed lances and helmets crowned with laurel- and
oak leaves on pastel yellow and green ground in the lateral fields. Vase in balbous
amphora shape over octogonal foot. Recessed shaft with a fluted neck ring atop. Zone above
decorated with partly reliefed; partly sculpturally attached ribbons and flower garlands
on pastel pink ground. The body is sectioned in four main zones by vertical strips
embellished with figurines and relief decor. They each show a textured scene. Along the
shoulder four golden fruit bowls; fantastical hybrid animals and vegetable forms in
relief. The widely protruding; fluted spout is carried on the shoulders of fantasy
figures.. Height with base 100cm.
Base and vase marked with crowned N. Condition C.

The battle at Belle Alliance; also known as 'Waterloo'; was a popular theme of history
painting in the 19th century. In German; resp. Prussian iconography a string focus was
laid on the deeds of Gerhard Leberecht von Bl點her. It was 'Marschall Vorw鋜ts" (Marshall
Forwards) who; despite his defeat in the Battle of Ligny; advanced with the Prussian
troops. At Kaub; he led 50.000 men with 15.000 horses over the Rhine. This made it
possible to reach the already strugglig British troops in Waterloo in time and thus defeat
Napoleon once and for all. The imagery on the vase is a patriotic tribute to Bl點her's
deeds; leaning on popular concepts of depiction from the 19th century. Other examples of
related depiction methods can be found in the oeuvres of Wilhelm Camphausen; whose
painting "Bl點hers Rhein黚ergang bei Kaub" (Bl點her's Rhine-Crossing by Kaub) (1859) is
preserved today in the Mittelrhein-Museum Koblenz; or Georg Bleibtreu. His wall painting
for the Berlin Hall of Fame from 1888; counts among the most popular depictions of Bl點her
on the battlefield of Waterloo. The etching by the engraver Gottfried Arnold Lehmann
(1766-1819) clearly served as model for the meeting of Bl點her with the Duke of Wellington
in the third image zone. The narrative climax is reached in the fourth image. As a
consequence of Bl點her's victory Napoleon; the Tricolore; and Marianne are on the ground.
Victoria overruns them; brandishing her sword; in her quadriga. (Napoleon had stolen the
artwork by Johann Gottfried Schadow from the Brandenburger Tor. After the defeat at
Waterloo; Prussian soldiers discovered the quadriga in Paris; which was thereupon returned
to Berlin - becoming a symbol of victory.) Above her; in the blinding light of the rising
sun; stand the founders of the 'Holy Alliance' Frederick Wilhelm III King of Prussia;
Emperor Franz I of Austria and Tsar Alexander I.; Europe's hope for a lasting peace on the
basis of Christian love and fraternity.Art trade; Van Ham.