Du Paquier Beaker with Saucer

The left putto next to the cartouche on the cup holds a banner in his hand with the inscription «Ecce Agnus Dei» — a reference to the biblical scene in which John the Baptist calls out «Behold the Lamb of God» as he sees Christ passing by during a sermon (John 1:29). The specific engraving Bottengruber used as the basis for the purple camaieu scene on the beaker is unknown. However, the image of John the Baptist pointing to the Lamb is a well-known motif in Christian iconography.

See the following figs: To the left and right our cup, in the center, an engraving by Jonas Umbach (Augsburg 1624–1693), depicting John the Baptist under a tree with the Lamb, also with the banner „Ecce Agnus Dei.“

The scene on the saucer also depicts Saint John, this time during his sermon of repentance (Matt. 3:1): "In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."

We have not been able to find the engraving for this scene either. However, there are famous examples in art history of this unmistakable depiction, showing John standing above the people, who are huddled below him, humbly listening to his words. A well-known example is the painting "The Preaching of John the Baptist" by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606–1669).

See the following figs.: On the left, the scene from our saucer; on the right, an excerpt from the painting „The Preaching of John the Baptist“ by Rembrandt, in the Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Our cup with saucer shows strong similarities in composition, colors, cartouche design, as well as in the putti that Bottengruber so loved, with the so-called "Putti Cup" dated and signed by him as "JBotten­gruber F(ecit) Vienna 1730" in the Austrian Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (Fired by Passion Vol. I, Fig. 6:31).

Pazaurek dedicates a color plate to this cup with saucer (1925 Vol. I, p. 15) and refers to it as the "masterpiece" of the artist (1925 Vol. I, p. 189, footnote 1). Elsewhere (Pazaurek 1902, p. 151), he describes the cup and saucer as the "artistically most successful work of Bottengruber."

See the following fig.: The Vienna "Putti Cup" with saucer

Also the praised juxtaposition of "Camayeu painting and polychromy with gilding" (Pazaurek 1925, Vol. I, p. 191) is found almost identically on both our cup and the Viennese "Putti Cup".

As much as our cup resembles the Viennese "Putti Cup", one difference is unmistakable: in the subject of the purple camaieu scenes, Bottengruber used his typical bacchanalian putti for the Viennese porcelains, whereas in our cup with saucer, he chose biblical scenes — a subject that is exceedingly rare for Bottengruber, if not unique.

Pazaurek was not aware of a single work with religious themes. He wrote that Bottengruber's "favorite themes" were "putti and mythological scenes, primarily from the realm of Bacchus and Neptune, battle scenes, or hunting scenes" (Pazaurek 1902, p. 155). "Religious motifs are not known among Bottengruber’s pieces" (Pazaurek 1925, Vol. I, p. 187). We, too, have not been able to find any other porcelain with biblical scenes.

However, during our research, we made an interesting discovery: It is unmistakable that our cup and the Vienna "Putti cup" are closely related, due to their striking similarity, as already described. Both porcelains were created in 1730, which is certain based on the dating of the Vienna porcelain. It is also certain that Bottengruber was exploring the iconography of Saint John during this period, which is directly reflected in the purple painting on our porcelain.

It is interesting that the motif of the putti playing around a goat on the Vienna cup resembles an engraving by the Dutch painter Cornelius Galle II (1638–1678), which depicts Christ, John the Baptist, and an angel—in the form of putti—playing with the lamb. The title of this engraving is "Ecce Agnus Dei".

See the following figs.: Left: the Vienna cup; right: the Galle engraving "Ecce Agnus Dei": depicting Christ, Saint John, and an angel in the form of putti playing with a lamb.