porcelain, polychromed and with gold decor, partly gilt, the well of the saucer features four doves drinking from a bowl, cup height 6 cm, saucer diameter 12.9 cm, underglaze blue sceptre mark, (GO)

Doves drinking water from a round bowl are one of the most famous animal motifs of Roman antiquity, which has been handed down to us through several pictorial and literary sources. The motif is known as "Doves of Pliny" because Pliny the Elder (ca. 13-79 AD) reported in his "Naturalis Historia" on a mosaic created by the famous Greek mosaicist Sosos from Pergamon in the second century BC.
These drinking doves, also known as Capitoline doves, which were handed down in literature by Pliny the Elder, were also found in Pompeii as a Roman copy of the Greek original. In 1737, Cardinal Giuseppe Alessandro Furietti discovered the floor mosaic with the doves in Hadrian's Villa during the course of his archaeological research. When he published his findings, Pliny's doves were recognised in them.
Micromosaic decoration is a specialty of the porcelain painters at KPM in Berlin and is based on micromosaics on table tops and jewellery from Italy, which often feature antique motifs.

Literature:
Wasser Witwer, Samuel (ed.): Raffinesse & Eleganz, Munich 2007, ill. 445. The motif of drinking doves is probably the most famous animal motif of Roman antiquity. In 1737, Cardinal Giuseppe Alessandro Furietti discovered the floor mosaic with the doves in Hadrian's Villa during the course of his archaeological research. The first copper engravings with this motif were published in the late 18th century.