Guéridon

Werner & Mieth, Berlin

ca. 1810 · Gilt yellow metal, alabaster · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

This table is a masterpiece by the Berlin firm Werner & Mieth (partnership of Christian Gottlob Werner and Gottfried Mieth), one of the great artistic foundries of the age of European Neoclassicism. The firm's production included furniture and chimneys as well as table decorations, acquired not only by German Royal patrons and noble houses but also delivered to Holland and as far as Constantinople. As members of the Academy of Arts, Werner & Mieth exhibited in the annual exhibitions from 1786. Their factory was established before 1792 on the Leipziger Straße in Berlin, opposite the Porzellanmanufaktur. However, an official comparison between the KPM porcelain bronze mounts and those of Werner & Mieth by the Royal Collegium of Manufactory and Commerce and the Academie of Arts resulted in the conclusion that ‘the items supplied by Werner and Mieth [...] greatly surpassed the works of the others, in the beauty of their design concepts, their modeling and their fine execution.’

Artist

Werner & Mieth, Berlin

Date

ca. 1810

Medium

Gilt yellow metal, alabaster

Culture

German, Berlin

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of Kenneth Jay Lane, 2014