Page 18 - Women Collectors and the Rise of the Porcelain Cabinet (Collecting history in Europe)

and then again at century’s end. The collection’s Bosch, Oranienburg, the grotto in Oranienbaum),
expansion from 12 pieces in about 1625 to 1,065 along with their fi xtures and fi ttings, must be
pieces in 1651, and to more than 2,600 pieces by 1711 retained unchanged. Others even attempted to
attests to how entire rooms were indeed necessary to defi ne their collection as an entailed estate: in 1717
accommodate vast amounts of porcelain. Margravine Magdalena Wilhelmina of Baden-Durlach
(1677–1742), who had also inherited a number of
From the succession it is also evident that princesses pieces of porcelain from her mother, established an
with Dutch connections were privileged in their art and porcelain cabinet next to her bedchamber
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collecting activities. Catharine Belgica had been born at Karlsruhe Palace. It contained portraits and
into the House of Orange and thus had direct access miniatures of relatives and high-ranking princely
to these sought-after luxury goods. Her daughter and personages, wax portrait reliefs, silverware and
heir Amalie Elisabeth was a niece of Prince Maurice elaborate objects made of soapstone, terra sigillata
of Orange and spent some time living in Groningen and agate. By 1733 the porcelain collection had grown
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when, during her regency (1637–1650) on behalf of to 1,146 items and consisted not only of Asian
her underage son William VI (1629–1663), she was pieces but also of contemporary European products,
forced to fl ee the imminent occupation of Kassel such as Meissen and Viennese porcelain. Objects were
by imperial troops. Maria Amalia continually added arranged on the chimneypiece, on numerous small
to the inherited collection by making purchases via tables and lacquered shelves and on six pyramidal
agents in Holland, often declaring the objects to be étagères. Intending to enhance the renown of the
gifts from her husband. 104 dynasty and lay the foundations for a ‘cabinet that is
to remain in this princely house in perpetuity’, she
Apart from ties with the House of Orange, a decisive stipulated in her will that the precious objects were
role was also played by other kinship connections indivisible and hoped that the wife of her grandson
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to the House of Brandenburg, which was exemplary would further expand the collection. At the time
among the German principalities as regards the of writing this instruction her grandson Charles
collection of porcelain. Landgravine Hedwig Sophie Frederick of Baden-Durlach (1728–1811), whom she
of Hesse-Kassel (1623–1683), the wife of William VI was raising and on whose behalf she held a place in
of Hesse-Kassel, was a sister of the Grand Elector the guardian government, was still a minor without a
Frederick Willem and hence a sister-in-law of Louise marriage agreement. Hence, Magdalena Wilhelmina
Henrietta of Orange. Presumably following their was entrusting her most valuable items to the care of
example and certainly making use of her favourable an as yet unknown young woman who might marry
connections in the Netherlands, she assembled a into the family in the distant future, in the hope that
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large collection of Asian objects. In 1679 the son and this person would share her interest in Asian objects.
successor of the Great Elector, Frederick III, married She wrote, ‘the cabinet pieces comprising pretiosa,
his fi rst wife, Elisabeth Hen rietta of Hesse-Kassel. rarities, works of art, porcelain and paintings... are
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to remain in the possession of the ruling dynasty,
Marrying into the landgraviate family, a young and by no means dispersed, given away, exchanged
princess like Maria Amalia thus came into a setting in or otherwise alienated.’ Sadly, her desire was not
which she could seamlessly continue building upon complied with. The two grandsons who were entitled
an existing female porcelain collecting tradition. to inherit, Charles Frederick and William Louis
(1732–1788) divided the contents of the cabinet
As was the case nearly everywhere in Europe, the amongst themselves. 111
porcelain collection of Maria Amalia was regarded
neither as part of the core assets of the family dynasty nor
as palace fi xtures but rather as the personal property of As interior design was regarded as a woman’s domain
the princess. It therefore did not enjoy particularly good during the 17 and 18 centuries, complementary to
th
th
legal protection and its existence as a single entity was
limited to the princess’s own lifetime. the princes’ task of governing, the princesses created
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interiors that represented their political and dynastic
The problem of how to preserve the objects they interests, a development that can be observed at all
had assembled as a unifi ed collection was one that European courts. Court ceremonial defi ned women’s
was faced by most princesses. From early times, the apartments as communication spaces that were
female members of the House of Orange had always accessible to a broader circle of courtly society. Since
endeavoured to stipulate in their wills that the palaces it was usually there that diplomats and visitors were
and rooms they had created themselves (Huis ten received, meals were eaten and courtly entertainment

188 CHINESE AND JAP ANESE P ORCELAIN FOR THE DUTCH GOLDEN AGE

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