About the Artwork
The chief modeler at Höchst from 1765 was Johann Peter Melchior, whose first work for the factory was this rare group. A Chinese emperor sits enthroned beneath a fanciful bell-fringed baldachin, with emblems of the arts—painting, sculpture, music, and architecture—scattered on the steps before him. In attendance are a courtier, an artist, who originally held a scroll with pseudo-Chinese writing, and a poet wearing a laurel wreath. While the theme of "the prince" as a patron of the arts dates back to the Renaissance, Melchior here translated it into a fashionable rococo chinoiserie fantasy.
The Chinese Emperor
1766
Hoechst (Manufacturer) German Johann Peter Melchior (Modeler) German, 1742-1825
Hard-paste porcelain, vitreous enamel, gold
Overall: 16 1/8 × 13 × 9 inches (41 × 33 × 22.9 cm)
Ceramics
European Sculpture and Dec Arts
Gift of James S. Holden in memory of his mother, Mrs. E. G. Holden
51.59
This work is in the public domain.
Markings
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Marks, on bottom, in overglaze enamel: [a purple six-spoked wheel; manufactory mark]
Provenance
Robert von Hirsch (Basel, Switzerland)
(Rosenberg & Stiebel, New York, New York, USA)
James S. Holden
1951-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:
Provenance pageExhibition History
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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.
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Zais, E. Die Kurmainzische Porzellan-Manufaktur zu Hochst. Mainz, 1887, p. 143.
Hofman, F.H. J.P. Melchior. Munich, 1921, pp. 128, 176f, pl. 12
Hofman, F.H. Das Porzellan der Europaischen Manufakturen Im 18. Jahrhunderts. Berlin, 1932, pl. XVI.
Grigaut, Paul. "Chinoiserie." Bulletin of the DIA 30, nos. 3/4 (1950-51): p. 73 (ill.).
Scott, C.M. and G.R. Scott Jr. Antique Porcelain Digest. Newport, 1961, p. 192, no. 329, pl. 95.
"Museum Life: Acquisitions and Exhibitions." Faenza 37, nos. 5-6 (1951): p. 123.
Comstock, Helen. "The Connoisseur in America: The Chinese Emperor--A Hochst Group." Connoiseur 128, no. 524 (January 1952): p. 215 (ill.), p. 216f
Meister, P. W., and H. Reber European Porcelain of the 18th Century, trans. Ewald Osers. Ithaca, 1983, no. 229, pp. 148-149 (ill.).
Sauerlandt, M. Deutsche Porzellanfiguren Des XVIII Jahrhunderts. Cologne, 1923, cat. no. 38 (ill.).
Avery, C.L. Masterpieces of European Porcelain. Exh. cat., Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1949, cat. no. 204, pl. XV.
Hochster Fayencen und Porzellane. Exh. cat., Altertumsmuseum und Gemaldegalerie der Stadt Mainz. Mainz, 1964, cat. no. 406, (ill.).
Kramer, E. "Hochster Porzellangruppen Von Johann Peter Melchior; Eine Stilkritische Betrachtung." Keramos 56 (1972): pp. 3-68 (fig. 45).
Reber, H. "Johann Peter Melchior Und Seine Anfange In Hochst." Mainzer Zeitschrift 71/72 (1976/77): pp. 187-190, pls. 57, 58.
You, Yao-Fen. “From Novelty to Necessity: The Europeanization of Coffee, Tea, and Chocolate.” In Coffee, Tea, and Chocolate: Consuming the World, ed. Yao-Fen You, Mimi Hellman, and Hope Saska. Exh. cat., Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 2016, p. 48; 58 (ill.); 130, cat. 59.
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Credit Line for Reproduction
Hoechst; after Johann Peter Melchior, The Chinese Emperor, 1766, hard-paste porcelain, vitreous enamel, gold. Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of James S. Holden in memory of his mother, Mrs. E. G. Holden, 51.59.
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