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

Polychrome painted, richly decorated in gold.

35 pieces. "Service with lattice relief" form. 6 dinner plates (Ø 25 cm), 6 soup plates, 6 salad plates, 6 dessert plates, 6 soup cups, 2 oval plates (L 28.5 and 34.5 cm), 2 different sauce boats (L 19.5 and 15.5 cm) and 1 tureen.

"One Thousand and One Nights" is first and foremost world literature. It is the stories of Scheherazade that Heinz Werner translates here into imaginative pictorial worlds. 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. At the same time, Werner adopted the laws of beauty of porcelain painting from the old master Höroldt. The delicate depictions, the golden lines that run through the robes, the broad golden stripe that gives the individual pieces stability, airy golden draperies, a restrained color scheme and and and ... - The delicacy of the brushwork on this exquisite dinner service is indescribable and demands the utmost skill from the painter. The shapes of the vessels were created by the young Ludwig Zepner. "They are strict and soft at the same time, with great clarity of outline, ideal vessel bodies for the light, delicate painting." (see Meissener Konturen 1960-1990, p.72). The tureen alone is a masterpiece of modern porcelain design, an icon of modern artistic creation, and the dinner service was - to the displeasure of Walter Ulbricht, who disliked the "Arabian Nights" motif - the focus of the presentation at the Leipzig Autumn Fair in 1966: 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 decors. In fact, "One Thousand and One Nights" became a success story that continues to captivate and delight lovers of exquisite porcelain to this day. In its originality and uniqueness, the dinner service presented here is a milestone in the history of the Meissen manufactory, both in terms of art history and aesthetics. (see Meissener Konturen 1960 - 1990, p. 72, p. 240ff.).

Literature : "Meissener Konturen", p. 72f. and p. 240ff.

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