Heavy mark, late 1960s and early 1970s, 1st choice, decor no.-1354b./680710. Design of form: 1967 by Erhard Großer (1902-?), Alexander Struck (1902-1990), Ludwig Zepner (1931-2010); design of decor: Heinz Werner (1928-2019).

Polychrome painted, richly decorated with gold.

"Thousand and One Nights" is first of all world literature. It is the stories of Scheherazade, which Heinz Werner transfers here into imaginative imagery. Completely in the tradition of Johann Gregorius Höroldt (1696-1775), Heinz Werner recognized that one must find a great theme for porcelain painting that allows for infinite variations. And at the same time Werner adopts from the old master Höroldt the laws of beauty of porcelain painting. The delicate representations, golden lines that cross the robes, the wide gold stripe that gives firmness to the individual pieces, airy golden draperies, a restrained coloring and and ... - the delicacy of the brushwork on this exquisite dinner service is indescribable and demands the utmost skill of the painter. The shapes of the vessels are from the hand of the young Ludwig Zepner. "They are strict and soft at the same time, are of great clarity in outline, ideal vessel bodies for the jumping, light, graceful painting." (cf. Meissen Contours 1960-1990, p.72). The tureen alone is a masterpiece of modern porcelain design, an icon of artistic creation of the modern age.The dinner service was - to the displeasure of Walter Ulbricht, who disliked the subject "Thousand and One Nights" - the focus of the presentation at the 1966 Leipzig Autumn Fair: Despite the enormous number of individual pieces, no painting motif was repeated, not even on the multiple pieces(!). For Ludwig Zepner, this service set the quality standard for the development of all subsequent shapes and decorations. Indeed, "One Thousand and One Nights" became a success story that continues to captivate and inspire lovers of exquisite porcelain to this day. In its originality and uniqueness, the dinner service presented here is a milestone in Meissen's manufactory history, both in terms of art history and aesthetics. (cf. Meissen Contours 1960 - 1990, p. 72, p. 240ff.).

Literature : "Meissen Contours", pp. 72f. and pp. 240ff.

Provenance : Hamburg private collection, acquired in the art trade in the 1960s.