Circular centerpiece belonging to the Service for the Khedive of Egypt

On the occasion of the celebrations for the opening of the Suez Canal, the Ginori factory created a precious porcelain table service for the Khedive of Egypt Ismail Pasha. The preparatory designs for the various pieces were commissioned in 1872 directly by the Viceroy to the Italian painter and decorator Gaetano Lodi. Characterized by a wide range of Oriental-style decorations and singular shapes, the collection of sketches and watercolors submitted to the Khedive was sent to Doccia wherethe chief sculptor Jafet Torelli used them as models for their translation into porcelain, while the decorations were probably the work of Leopoldo Nincheri and Lorenzo Becheroni Junior. 

The history of this «grand porcelain table service», as it is remembered in Le meraviglie dell’industria by Luigi Figuier from 1880, is particularly indicative of the consideration achieved by the Ginori factory during this period. Unfortunately, Ismail Pasha went bankrupt due to his opulent lifestyle and in 1879 was forced to abdicate and go into exile in Naples. Here the Marquis Lorenzo Ginori Lisci had to file a petition to the court to obtain the balance due for the purchase of the service.

The decorations of the centerpiece presented here recall ornamental elements of Egyptian culture, foremost among them the frieze composed of lotus flowers and leaves. The triangular foot with three zoomorphic corbels is decorated on each side with a bouquet composition of lotus flowers and coloured raised bands. The bowl, resting on a central knot coloured with horizontal bands in red, green, black, and gold, is embellished on the outside with a multicoloured radiating pattern of flowers, buds, and lotus leaves, topped by raised gilt studs. The pierced rim of the container features a multicoloured band with a complex ornament of lotus flowers and half rosettes, surmounted by a blue border painted with small gold flowers.