Nuremberg Faience Tankard dated 1757
The Raising of Lazarus painted by Georg Friedrich Kordenbusch
Known for a refined blue and white decorative style inspired by Dutch Delft pottery, this tankard exemplifies the exceptional skill of the painter Georg Friedrich Kordenbusch creating decorations with narrative depth depicting biblical scenes using the blue and white palette in an intricate composition. Sophisticated use of blue pigments, ranging from deep cobalt to softer azure tones and precise, delicate brushwork that captured fine details and emotional nuances are the hallmarks of the Kordenbusch workshop’s distinctive style.
Kordenbusch Workshop and Georg Friedrich Kordenbusch
The heyday of the Nuremberg faience workshop is particularly associated with the name Kordenbusch. Andreas Kordenbusch, who died on March 25, 1754, first appears as an “honorable and artistically experienced painter”. Then the even superior painter Georg Friedrich Kordenbusch, who died on May 20, 1763, is also described in the death register as “honorable and famous for his art”. His works can be identified by the three dots he placed next to his initials or name. (see mark below)
Biblical Context
John 11:1-44 describes Jesus performing one of his most powerful miracles:
Lazarus, brother of Mary and Martha, had been dead for four days Jesus calls Lazarus out of the tomb, dramatically bringing him back to life.
The Resurrection of Lazarus is a theological narrative with emphasis on the miraculous moment of raising symbolizing hope, divine power, and the promise of salvation.
Engraving by Matthäus Merian the Elder:
Matthaeus Merian der Ältere, Radierer
Verlag Lazarus Zetzners Erben, Straßburg, Drucker, Verleger
Auferweckung des Lazarus, 1629
In: “ICONES BIBLICAE”; Straßburg 1629, Pars IV, S.79 (fol. Kk4 recto)
Hamburger Kunsthalle, Bibliothek
Inv. Nr.: kb-1915-554-200
https://online-sammlung.hamburger-kunsthalle.de/de/objekt/kb-1915-554-200
Reference Object Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nürnberg
Nürnberg um 1750
Kordenbusch Werkstatt
Der Krug zeigt die Auferstehung Christi
Höhe mit Standring 20,1 cm,
Durchmesser oben 16 cm,
Höhe gesamt 26,7 cm
Permalink
http://objektkatalog.gnm.de/objekt/Ke5684Copyright Germanisches Nationalmuseum
Reference Object Victoria + Albert Museum, London
Blue tinted tin-glazed earthenware painted with an image of the Baptism of Christ. Probably painted in the workshop of Georg Kordenbusch.
German (Nuremberg), about 1740
Marks and inscriptions
‘K’
copyright V&A’s collections
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O161651/tankard-kordenbusch-georg-friedrich/
Literature
Bosch, Helmut: Deutsche Fayencekrüge des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts. Sammlungen Hans Cohn, Los Angeles. Siegfried Kramarsky, New York.
Mainz: Von Zabern 1983.
GLASER, Silvia. Nürnberger Fayencen.
Geschichte und Erzeugnisse einer Manufaktur in der Reichsstadt: Bestandskatalog des Germanischen Nationalmuseums.
Germanisches Nationalmuseum Abt. Verlag, 2017.
O Riesebieter
Die deutschen Fayencen des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts.
Klinkhardt & Biermann, Leipzig
1921
p 73 – 78
Online Access of this book via Internet Archive
