Magnificent Pair of Meissen Porcelain Persian Sultan & Sultana Riding Elephants

Description

Magnificent Pair of Meissen Porcelain Figures of a Persian Sultan and Sultana Riding Elephants After the 18th Century Models by Johann Joachim Kaendler and Peter Reinicke. This pair of Meissen porcelain figures depicts a Persian man and woman seated upon caparisoned elephants. Each elephant is modeled in a walking pose with raised trunk, curved tusks, and naturalistic facial features. Draped saddle cloths cover the backs of the animals and are decorated with molded tassels, scrolling gilt ornament, and painted details. A male rider sits upon one elephant holding a staff topped with a crescent and star finial, while the female rider is shown carrying a gilt spear and a book. Both figures wear flowing robes painted with floral decoration and accented with gilt borders. At the front of each elephant sits a dark skinned attendant wearing a short garment and holding a tool associated with guiding the animal. The elephants are painted in a white glaze with shaded gray trunks, while the costumes incorporate pink, green, blue, yellow, and gilt highlights. The composition is fully modeled in the round with detailed treatment of the figures, textiles, and animal forms. These figures were produced by Meissen and bear the underglaze blue crossed swords mark on the underside, together with impressed and painted factory numbers. The models are based on the celebrated Persian on Elephant figures created for the Meissen manufactory in the eighteenth century by Johann Joachim Kaendler, one of the factory’s most important modelers. Meissen records identify the Persian rider on elephant as a model first created around 1750 and inspired by European depictions of Eastern costume and courtly subjects. The Meissen factory was established in 1710 and became the first European producer of hard paste porcelain. During the eighteenth century, Kaendler developed a series of Oriental and Persian subjects that combined exotic riders, attendants, and elephants into elaborate sculptural groups. These figures continue that tradition through the use of hand painted decoration, molded tassel work, and extensive gilding applied over finely modeled porcelain surfaces. The detailed rendering of the elephants, attendants, and riders reflects the factory’s long standing production of large scale figural porcelain groups based on Kaendler’s original models. Germany, Circa: 1900

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