'Oriental girl' German KPM porcelain plaque

'Oriental girl' German KPM porcelain plaque
German, Early 20th Century
Plaque: Height 48cm, width 29cm
Frame: Height 65cm, width 46cm
 
Orientalist style works became very popular in the 19th Century, and the tradition continued into the early 20th Century, when this fine porcelain plaque was produced. Manufactured by famed German firm KPM, the plaque was retailed in New York by Gilman Collamore & Co., who imported high-end works of porcelain and glass. The plaque still bears the retailer's label to the reverse reading 'Gilman Collamore & Co, Union Sq. NY'.
 
The plaque is rectangular in shape, and portrays a young girl, swathed in rich, red draped clothing, reaching upward to give food to a white dove perched on a wire. The girl, her hair bound up in the Orientalist fashion, wears an armband as well as hoop earrings. The interior in which the scene is set is hung with luxurious textiles and decorated with gilt detailing.
 
The plaque is housed in a giltwood frame and is marked to the reverse with the sceptre mark of KPM porcelain, together with the retailer's label. The reverse also bears a written inscription reading 'Orientalisches Mädchen / L. Sturm', the title translating to 'Oriental girl'.
 
Artist/Maker: KPM