Tazza Johann Maresch, 19th century

JOHANN MARESCH (Austria, 1821-1914).
Tazza, late 19th century.
Chiseled silvered copper.
Hallmarks on the back.
Measurements: 16 x 18 x 18 cm.

The one presented here is a decorative tazza entirely made of chiseled copper. The circular plate is embellished with the relief of "Minerva presenting the personification of painting to the seven liberal arts", which supports the idea that painting and sculpture deserved to be included in the field of higher education. Thus Minerva (goddess of poetry, medicine and magic and inventor of music) is seen introducing "painting" and possibly "sculpture" to the seven liberal arts, personified by female figures. They are grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy, with their respective tools and instruments around them. The scene takes place in a landscape with Italianate baroque buildings and classical ruins. Both the circular foot and the shaft on which the dish is supported tend to horror vacui, leaving not an iota of surface undecorated.

Such bowls were common as decorative elements in elegant interiors, both for display in salons and for serving fruit or sweets on special occasions.

The pottery firm Johann Maresch (official name Johann Maresch Thon- und Stein-gutwaren fabric in Aussig or Johann Maresch Siderolith und Terracotta Fabrik ) was located in Ústí nad Labem. The products produced here were labeled B and M, around 1863 the company changed to the JM brand. The company had extensive production and exported its goods. The ceramic dwarf produced in the Maresch company since the early 1880s has become one of the symbols of Ústí nad Labem. The original pieces from the production of this plant have been transformed today among the expensive collector's items.