# Franz Anton Bustelli artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/franz-anton-bustelli/
Profile generated: 2026-05-23T10:19:17.052Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1723-04-11
- Death date: 1763-04-18
- Nationality: German, Swiss
- Movements: Rococo
- Common media: porcelain, ceramics

## About Franz Anton Bustelli

Franz Anton Bustelli (1723–1763) was a Swiss-born porcelain modeller and ceramicist who became the principal modeller at the Bavarian Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory from 1754 until his death. He is widely regarded as the finest porcelain modeller working in the Rococo style, producing figures celebrated for their animated poses, expressive detail, and theatrical sensibility. His best-known works include Commedia dell'Arte character groups and allegorical figures that capture the elegance and wit of mid-18th-century court culture. Active during a relatively short career spanning roughly 1738 to 1763, Bustelli's output was concentrated at Nymphenburg, where his designs helped define the manufactory's artistic identity and remain central to its historical reputation. Collectors today encounter his name primarily through Nymphenburg porcelain figures that appear at auction and in museum decorative-arts collections worldwide.

## Common works and media

Bustelli's surviving work consists almost entirely of small-scale porcelain figures produced at the Nymphenburg manufactory. Common subjects include Commedia dell'Arte characters such as Harlequin, Columbine, and Pantalone, as well as allegorical figures of the seasons, continents, and trades, exotic character groups, and pastoral genre scenes. These figures were typically modelled in white or painted polychrome porcelain and range from single figures to elaborate multi-figure groups. Original 18th-century examples are scarce; later Nymphenburg re-editions and copies by other factories also circulate in the market.

## Market and appraisal context

Bustelli's original 18th-century Nymphenburg porcelain figures are rare and command strong interest at auction, particularly complete Commedia dell'Arte groups and well-documented individual figures in good condition. Key valuation factors include confirmed attribution to Bustelli versus the broader Nymphenburg workshop, condition reports noting any restoration or repair, provenance history, model rarity, and subject matter. The Nymphenburg manufactory has reissued many Bustelli models over the centuries, and collectors must distinguish modern reproductions from period originals. Professional appraisal should reference factory archives, scholarly catalogues, and comparable auction results.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from library authority files, museum records, and scholarly sources with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Franz Anton Bustelli, identity data is sourced from Getty ULAN, VIAF, RKD, Wikidata, and biographical references; auction-level comparables should be verified independently for any appraisal.

## Sources

- RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History): https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/247670
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q124781
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500096233
- VIAF (OCLC): https://viaf.org/viaf/806029/
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Anton_Bustelli
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n87829935