Audubon, John James. Eider Duck, Plate 50 - Sachsen-Meiningen

AUDUBON, John James (1785 - 1851).
Eider Duck, Plate 50.
Aquatint engraving with original hand color.
London: Robert Havell, 1827-1838.
26 3/8" x 38 7/8" sheet, 37" x 49 5/8" framed.

Provenance: The Magnificent Sachsen-Meiningen Set of Audubon, uncut deckled edges.

Comparables: Christie's, 2004 - $41,825; Neal Auction Co., 2011 - $25,692.50.

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Lots 19 - 22, Specially Colored for William IV King of England 1830-1837

The set of Audubon's The Birds of America belonging to the Ducal House of Sachsen-Meiningen is closely tied to the history of Europe of the past two centuries. The story begins with its subscription by Queen Adelaide of England, nei Adelheid Princess of Sachsen-Meiningen, and ends with its sale at auction on June 25 in New York. In between lie eras of change with ups and downs, which, especially in the 20th century, have had a lasting effect on the living members of the family.

The House of Sachsen-Meiningen ruled from the 17th Century until 1918 and among others shaped the political, economic and cultural development of Thuringia. During the reign of the broad-minded Duke Georg II (1826-1914), the so-called "Theater Duke" ("Theater Herzog"), the ducal capital of Meiningen became a center of European theater and music in the 19th century. Of equal importance was the preservation and expansion of the art collection and library, which was opened to the public at an early stage. Georg's extraordinary artistic talent was passed on through the family, continued most notably by the line of the Barons von Saalfeld which was established by his son Ernst.

Members of the Ducal Family were seriously affected by the political upheaval in the Communist controlled part of Germany after 1945 and lost their ancestral home and their possessions. After the reunification of Germany in 1990, the family was faced with a completely altered political situation. In the ancestral tradition of support and patronage of the arts, the family waived its rights to large portions of the art collection for the benefit of the Cultural Foundation of Meiningen (Kulturstiftung Meiningen) and will participate in the future in the cultural development of Meiningen by holding a permanent seat on the Board of Trustees of the Foundation. As compensation for waiving its claim to the ducal property, the magnificent Audubon plates, among other works, were returned to the family.