VICTORIA Adelaide Mary Louisa, Princess Royal of England and Princess Royal of Prussia (1840-1901) The harvest of death. "Es ist ein Schnitter, der heißt Tod" or "Ein schöns Mayenlied", circa 1870 Terracotta vase with painted and captioned revolving decoration. 11.5 x 13 cm. Restorations. Provenance: - Presented by Princess Victoria to Henry de Triqueti. - Château du Perthuis. Bibliography: - Richard Dagorne and Nerina Sanotorius, "A la cour de Prusse", ss dir. I. Leroy-Jay Lemaistre, Henry de Triqueti 1803-1874, Le Sculpteur des Princes, cat. exp, Orléans, musée des Beaux-Arts, Montargis, musée Girodet de Montargis, October 3, 2007-January 6, 2008, Paris, Hazan, pp. 166-175, illustrated p.172/173, fig. 212 Illustration of a popular German folk song. Taken from a text published by Achim Von Arnim and Clemens Brentano in a collection entitled "Des Knaben Wunderhorn" between 1806 and 1808. The eldest daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Princess Victoria married Kronprinz Frederick of Prussia, the future Frederic III of Germany, in 1858. She settled in Berlin. While maintaining close ties with the United Kingdom, she had to contend with the pro-German, conservative atmosphere of the Prussian court. The early years proved particularly complicated for the young princess, steeped in the liberal ideas of her father, Prince Albert. With the passage of time and the birth of her numerous offspring, Princess Victoria's situation improved somewhat. To silence the criticism of her conservative enemies and show that she was not a spy in the service of the British crown, she made it a point of honor to behave like a true Prussian princess, supporting German troops and helping wounded soldiers. Against a backdrop of exalted German identity and national sentiment, illustrating a Germanic song - and one with Gothic-inspired lettering - is no mean feat, especially in the early 1870s. In addition to its roots in German Romanticism, the revival of this text could also refer to the musical version by composer Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, a close friend of Prince Albert, Princess Victoria's beloved father. Against the backdrop of the aftermath of the 1870 war, this gift from the Crown Princess of Prussia to the Frenchman Henry de Triqueti, even if it remains in the private and friendly sphere, is no less symbolically powerful. The theme of the vase, the harvest of death, takes on its full dimension. "The Princess Royal of England, now Her Imperial Highness the Crown Princess of Germany, showed a remarkable talent for drawing and painting from an early age. She first came to prominence when she contributed a delicate little engraving to the collection of works offered for sale to raise money for the Patriotic Fund during the Crimean War. Marriage did not prevent Her Imperial Highness from indulging her favorite passion; she set up a studio for her personal use at the New Palace in Potsdam and produced numerous high-quality portraits of members of the imperial family. These are not just good likenesses, but thoroughly honorable works of art, testifying to the artist's true talent and not the work of a mere amateur. During her last stay in England, she took lessons in ceramic painting from a lady living in Chelsea. The Princess is also a sculptor" in Ellen Creathorne Clayton, English Female Artists, London, Tinsley, 1876, pp. 429-430.