The J. Paul Getty Museum Journal Volume 15 1987

46 Gassidy-GeigerFigure 8. Ignaz Preissler (Bohemian, 1676—1741). Saucerdecorated with allegory of November, circa1720. Schwarzlot decoration. Present locationunknown. Photo: Courtesy Verlag AntonHiersemann, Stuttgart.ings and distant villages, have been composed to bridgethe ends of the print source, creating a continuous image.Müller-Hofstede particularly noted Preissler's useof entwined trees at the ends of a scene taken from anengraving. The inserted landscapes recall the prints ofPaul Bril (1554-1626), Johann Teyler (1648-after 1697),and Gabriel Perelle (circa 1603—1667), which werewidely collected from the late seventeenth century andare recognized sources for some of Preissler's compositions.Occasionally, the buildings in these imaginedlandscapes, like the towered complex on the insideof the Getty bowl, seem specific enough tohave been taken from a real setting, perhaps the estateof the patron.The scenes on the bowl and on the Sevres dish incorporatemany elements and motifs that are consideredsignatures of Preissler's work, such as the billowingclouds and cresting waves, the sailing ships at sea, andthe distant hills, which seem at times to lean to theright. Preissler's masterful use of the Schwarzlot techniqueis evident in every aspect of the decoration, whereit was used to give volume to the painted forms anddefine edges and small details. Preissler was very carefulFigure 9. Martin Engelbrecht (German, 1684—1756),after Paul Decker. November. Engraving. H: 27cm (10W); W: 18.9 cm (77i 6"). Nuremberg,Germanisches Nationalmuseum HB 23789 b .Photo: Courtesy Germanisches Nationalmuseum,Nuremberg.in his use of gold, applying it in hair-thin lines to highlightedges and folds or in patterns of small dots sprinkledacross draperies.The bouquet in the center of the Getty bowl (fig. If),at once a reference and a tribute to Flora, is a rare exampleof Preissler's flower painting. The only comparableexample by Preissler is that on a hlanc-de-chine lion-maskjar in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg(Ke 2261), which consists of two still lifesof flowers in globular glass vases (fig. 6). 33However,on two saucers of Chinese porcelain with underglazeblueborders that Preissler painted in Schwarzlot and33. I wish to particularly thank Dr. Klaus Pechstein for the opportunityto examine this piece and others in the collection.