(2) Antique German Erdmann Schlegelmilch Porcelain Vases as Lamps. Hand-painted pastoral images on both with meticulous gilding on the red and green surfaces throughout. Marked on the undersides as part of the art collection of the late Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge, which was auctioned off by Sotheby Parke-Bernet in 1975 from her estate in Madison, New Jersey after her death. She was a prominent philanthropist and art collector known for her significant collection of "animalier" bronzes and dog portraits, who used her status as a wealthy heiress to become a major art patron as well as the founder of the Morris and Essex Kennel Club dog show. 

Provenance: From the collection of the late Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge at Madison, New Jersey. 

Condition: Both work. Slight rubbing on both. 

Size: 9 3/4 x 9 1/2 x 36 in. 

The Erdmann Schlegelmilch Porcelain Factory was established in Suhl, Thuringia, Germany in 1861 by Leonard Schlegelmilch. It was named after Leonard’s father, Erdmann, who first instructed him in porcelain painting. Complicating matters for future historians and writers of descriptions for auction houses, a second company devoted to porcelain was created by and named after Reinhold Schlegelmilch in 1869 in the exact same city, although the founders were not related by blood to each other. The companies were rivals for several generations, with Reinhold’s sons taking over his company when he died in 1892 and Leonard’s sons taking over his company when he died in 1899. In 1908 a porcelain factory started in Marktredwitz, Bavaria by Fritz Thomas fell on hard times and sold a large quantity of finished goods to Erdmann to cover debts. Erdmann further made the lives of future researchers difficult by lightly redecorating the plates and putting a golden cover-up in the shape of a heart over the Thomas name on the bottoms, selling them as new works. Both Suhl-based companies weathered World War I, but the trials and tribulations of the Nazi regime led Reinhold to close in 1934 and Erdmann to close in 1937. 

Both work. Slight rubbing on both. 

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