A monumental and awesome 1880-s Renaissance Revival style majolica centerpiece galleon from the top Bohemian maker, Wilhelm Schiller & Son. This piece has a fascinating amount of details and decor and is hand painted in various shades of brown and green, turquoise, milky white and beige colours. The inside is painted turquoise.
Huge centertable has the oval shape of an ancient galleon ship standing on a massive intricately shaped oval base. The galleon is made with the great attention to the detail and the traditions going back to ancient times. The body of the galleon features detailed wooden boards and nails and multiple decorations.
The bow is decorated with the figure of an angel spreading its arms and holding the cornucopia in his hands. This is a reference to the Neptune's angel - a mascot heading the ship's way. Above the angel there is a mascarone head and an eagle with spread wings.
The stern is no less detailed - here we have a winged female figurehead holding her breast in her left hand. The purpose of this mascot is to scare away the evil spirits and take the dead to the Valley of Dead in the case of the shipwreck. Like on the bow, there are two hanging cornucopia on each shipboard. Above the woman figurehead there is a royal crown sitting on a Roman column pedestal. Both the crown and the eagle represent the symbols of the royalty.
The bow, stern and the shipboards are decorated with the Raffaellesco style boards - embossed spray on meandering stems with curling leaves ending with dragons heads. On each shipboard features an elaborate balustrade set between frontons decorated with mascarones on each side.
The galleon sits on a huge oval four legged base rounded with a laurel wreath on the perimeter, symbolising the triumph. Each of the legs is decorated with the mascarone in the cartouches.
Made at Wilhelm Schiller & Son in the 1880-s.
Wilhelm Schiller started production of porcelain and earthenware in Bohemia in 1829 and remained in operation until the onset of World War I.
I have purchased this galleon in 2008 and since that time have only found 3 similar pieces appearing on the internet. One's similar in shape to this one but decorated differently, the second without the eagle on the bow and the third having two tritons sitting on the base and holding the galleon.
Centerpiece comes in the perfect condition given its age. There is a small chip on the woman's hair and crazing on the inside that's visible in the photos.
Height 16,4 in / 41 cm
Length 17,6 in / 44 cm
Width 9,6 in / 24 cm
Weight 6,3 kilos / 14 lb.
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Item appearance and description
Condition corresponds to the photos of the item. I only use the images of the of the items I sell herein. Please study the photos as they are part of the description. Despite trying to be as thorough as possible, there may be discrepancies not noted. All items are sold AS IS. The item sold in this listing is not new manufacture, is antique or vintage, it is pre-owned and expected to show signs of age, use and wear, consistent with its age. I aim to provide correct description to all and picture them in their current condition at the time of sale and based on the research of publicly available information about the item.
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Handling time
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Returns
Returns are accepted within 30 days from item receipt. Refunds will be made after return of the item in original condition.
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Please add me to your favourites list as I continuously add new items for sale and check out my other items!