Exclusive Collection Vase Secret Garden

There is a long tradition of depicting the exotic nature of faraway lands at Meissen. Its celebrated chinoiseries reflected European notions of everyday life in Asia, whilst "Indian" flower painting was devoted to East Asian flora and fauna. It was possible with the aid of elaborately conceived patterns from the manufactory to take a trip to intriguing realms shrouded in mystery and legend. In her "Secret Garden", designer Lena Hensel affords us a glimpse of a fantasy world laden with symbolic content in which she populates her garden with fanciful creatures of the kind painted by the young Adam Friedrich von Löwenfinck (1714-1754) in a scheme nevertheless intended for modern eyes.

Hensel has rejigged Löwenfinck's decorative notions into a vibrantly colourful work defined by the contrast between a dark cobalt-blue ground and floral motifs in radiant yellow. The upshot is a dream garden in which there is constantly something new to discover. Löwenfincks unique mythical beings, diagrammatically rendered in gilt, are hidden away amongst flowers and foliage in lambent shades of yellow.

In the process, the animals are first drawn with the pen, followed by an initial gold decoration, and after firing, the strong gold tones are again painted with the brush on the still matt gold surfaces. This is how Lena Hensel develops classic decorations further and creates contemporary works of art.
The porcelain vase's great size necessitated considerable feats of craftsmanship both by its painters and by all operatives in the Modelling Unit. Standing three feet high, it is at the top end of what manufactory staff can handle in the enamel kiln.