This round portrait is an iron cast, a technique that saw a rapid rise in the last quarter of the eighteenth century. The material, refined with and protected by a black linseed oil varnish, suited the Classicist preference for clear forms and monochrome surfaces. Josiah Wedgwood in particular had done much to increase the appreciation of black portrait reliefs with his basalt ware. Like Wedgwood’s ceramics, iron made it possible to produce large quantities at a price affordable to the middle classes.
In Saxony, the ironworks in Lauchhammer produced replicas of famous ancient sculptures such as the Herkulanerinnen or the Apollo Belvedere as early as the late 1780s. Prussia joined in the following decade, shifting the focus of iron casting to the production of small sculptures and decorative objects, such as candlesticks, vases and paperweights. Even filigree jewellery was produced. As ‘fer de Berlin’ (Berlin iron), these objects were soon in demand throughout Europe.
The relief portrait exhibited here, the place of manufacture of which is unknown, is reminiscent of depictions of Luise of Prussia, who was exemplary for the fashion and taste of her time. The sculptor Leonhard Posch perfected the iron casting process, producing a very series of similar profile portraits of the queen. In fact, it is possible that the Dresden portrait also comes from his workshop. It shows a lady in an elaborate, lace-trimmed Empire garb. Her head, coiffured in the classical manner, is adorned with a tiara. Around her neck she wears a large chain in the antique style. The iron casting technique is at its best in the extremely detailed depiction of the lace collar, the hairstyle as well as the jewellery.
Text: Alexander Röstel