Leitão e Irmão - Fruit bowl - Silver, Porcelain

Blue cobalt porcelain fruit holder with a silver mount — Leitão & Irmão. Circular in shape, executed in European porcelain from the late 19th to early 20th century, featuring a low, deep body with a ribbed contour. The exterior is fully covered with an intense cobalt blue glaze with a glossy finish, contrasting with the white porcelain interior. The internal decoration consists of small branches and naturalistic flowers, regularly dispersed across the surface, painted in polychrome in shades of blue, violet, yellow, orange, green and pink. The delicate, spaced composition gives the piece an elegant, balanced appearance characteristic of European decorative porcelain from this period. The top is enhanced by an elaborate Portuguese silver mount, comprising a smooth edge bezel applied to the rim, followed by a frieze of small spheres. Under the rim develops a relief decoration formed by successive suspended garlands, held by bows and rosettes, with vegetal elements, flowers, leaves and fruits. The ornamentation, executed with notable detail, runs along the entire perimeter of the vessel and creates a marked contrast between the silver’s shine and the dark blue porcelain background. The mount bears Portuguese contrast marks, namely “javali II,” corresponding to silver with a minimum fineness of 833 thousandths, used between 1887 and 1937, as well as the maker’s mark of the prestigious Portuguese house Leitão & Irmão. A decorative yet functional piece, representative of late 19th-century Portuguese luxury production and the early 20th century, combining polychrome porcelain with silverworking.

Era: late 19th century
Silver mount maker: Leitão & Irmão
Materials: polychrome porcelain and Portuguese silver 833 thousandths
Marks: contrast mark “javali II” and maker mark Leitão & Irmão
Total weight: 1200 g
Silver weight: 180 g
Dimensions: 9 cm high × 21 cm in diameter

Condition: showing signs of use and aging compatible with antiquity, including slight oxidation. The porcelain remains in good condition.