Notes:
A very similar lobed saucer with the same Dresden inventory mark can be found in the collection of the V&A (24&A-1908)
See Honey, W. B. Dresden china: an introduction to the study of Meissen porcelain. London: A. & C. Black, 1946, Pl. XIV (b), p. 59, 63, 166, 173.
Incised 'palace numbers' correspond with six inventory books compiled between 1721 and 1779 to catalogue the enormous porcelain collection of Augusts the Strong. Such historical documentation provides an invaluable insight into his collecting habits, as well as indicating a direct link between marked pieces such as this and the royal collection he amassed.
see Ulrich Pietsch et al., Triumph of the Blue Swords, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Exhibition Catalogue, 2010, p. 253, cat. no. 191, where the author notes that 'Japanese pieces were taken from the Japanese Palace to Meissen so that they could be copied for the French merchant Rodolphe Lemaire, who was planning to sell Meissen copies in France as Japanese originals. In the case of most of these imitations, the obligatory crossed swords mark was therefore painted over the glaze so that it would be easy to remove'. Count Hoym, the factory director at the time when the scam was discovered, was subsequently arrested and the merchant expelled from the country.
