Leitão e Irmão - Fruit bowl - Silver, Porcelain

Cobalt blue porcelain fruit holder with silver mounting — Leitão & Irmão. Circular-format fruit holder, executed in European porcelain from the transition between the 19th and 20th centuries, featuring a low, deep body and a ribbed contour. The exterior is entirely glazed in an intense cobalt blue with a glossy finish, contrasting with the interior in white porcelain. The internal decoration consists of small branches and naturalistic flowers, evenly dispersed over the surface, painted in polychrome in the tones blue, violet, yellow, orange, green and pink. The delicate, spaced composition gives the piece an elegant, balanced appearance, characteristic of European decorative porcelain of this period. The top is enhanced by an elaborate silver mounting from Portuguese silver, consisting of a smooth rim applied to the edge, accompanied by a frieze of small spheres. Under the rim there is a relief decoration formed by successive suspended garlands, fastened 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 shine of the silver and the dark blue background of the porcelain. The mounting bears Portuguese 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 and functional piece, representative of Portuguese luxury production from the late 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century, combining polychrome porcelain with silversmithing in silver.

Era: late 19th century
Manufacturer of the mounting: Leitão & Irmão
Materials: polychrome porcelain and Portuguese silver of fineness 833/1000
Marks: “javali II” contrast and maker’s mark Leitão & Irmão
Total weight: 1200 grams
Weight of silver: 180 grams.
Dimensions: 9 cm height × 21 cm diameter

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