Courtly Pleasures: Table Decorations as a Reflection of Baroque Society (Courtly Collection) - Hardcover

Helke, Gun-Dagmar; Schandelmaier, Hela

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 3897907348 ISBN 13: 9783897907348

Publisher: Arnoldsche Art Publishers, 2025

Synopsis

• Showcases beautiful table decorations from a southwest German collection
• Exquisite porcelain decorations highlight Baroque-era artistry and elegance
• The publication shows how these table decorations completed interiors as cohesive works of art
• Text in English and German

Scenes of gardens and of love, idyllic hunting parties, picturesque farms, and lifelike animal figurines in porcelain were popular motifs in table decoration from the Baroque to the beginning of the 19th century. These 'worlds in miniature' were intended to initiate conversation among the table guests - and of course attest to the discerning taste of the hosts. The decorative pieces were, for all intents and purposes, part of the furnishing scheme and finished off the room’s interior as a total work of art down to the last detail. Central to this was the artisanal sophistication and the perfect mastery of the latest techniques, which breathed new life into the miniatures.

Following on from Courtly Companions: Pugs and Other Dogs in Porcelain and Faience, now Courtly Pleasures presents the most beautiful table decorations produced by a variety of manufacturers, all from the abundant treasures of a southwest German private collection.

Text in English and German.

About this title

About the Author

Dr. Gun-Dagmar Helke

Studied art history, classical archaeology and Byzantine art history followed by her doctorate with dissertation on the Augsburg etcher Johann Esaias Nilson. Intern and assistant curator at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg. From 2006 conservator of the Collection at Gut Hohen Luckow; since 2012 art historian and manager of the Familienstiftung Ruth Merckle.

Research focus on ceramics, antique carpets and prints from the seventeenth to nineteenth century.

Hela Schandelmaier, MA

Studied art history, German language and literature, and Italian literature. Assistant curator at the Museum August Kestner in Hanover, where she inventoried and restructured the Ceramics Department. Expert appraiser in ceramics from the eighteenth to twentieth century.

Worked twenty-five years on the board of directors at the Gesellschaft der Keramikfreunde e. V. and on freelance exhibition and publication projects.

Edition details

• Publisher: Arnoldsche Art Publishers
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3897907348
• ISBN 13: 9783897907348
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256