The Blind Beggar Porcelain Plaque by KPM

This remarkable hand-painted porcelain plaque comes from the famed Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur, or KPM, Germany's Royal Porcelain Manufactory in Berlin. In this beautifully rendered composition, a blind beggar prays outside a church with his head turned towards the heavens yet is ignored by worshippers inside. He is comforted by his child companion who beckons toward the viewer. The scene is modeled after a painting by Josephus Laurentius Dyckmans, a 19th-century Belgian genre painter, that now resides in The National Gallery, London. This porcelain rendition possesses all of the meticulously executed detail and emotion of the original oil, and it represents the technical acuity and beautiful artistry for which the royal manufactory was known.

Porcelain plaques, especially ones as detailed and nuanced as the present example, are very difficult to produce, as ceramic paints do not attain their final color until after firing. Usually copies of well-known paintings of the day, these pieces were able to achieve incredible luminosity due to the translucent quality of the porcelain. Porcelain paintings by KPM are widely considered to have been superior to all others. 

Stamped “KPM” on the reverse

Circa 1855

Plaque: 15 1/2" high x 13 1/2" wide
Frame: 24 3/4" high x 22 3/4" wide