A pair of Meissen porcelain figures of a lion and lioness, circa 1748

‘The Property of a Gentleman’, Christie's London, 29 November 1976, lot 231;

The Collection of Sir Gawaine and Lady Baillie, Sotheby’s London, 1 May 2013, lot 92;

With Röbbig, Munich, bearing label; Where acquired

London, Asprey, nos. 12A and B, 1992

Lion subjects, modelled in various poses and in different sizes, were an important part of the Meissen factory’s repertoire of exotic animal figures. These animal models reflected the contemporary interest in the natural world and scientific study of species from afar, which in turn had been fuelled by the long tradition of Europe’s royal courts establishing menageries as a symbol of wealth and power.

As early as 1732, Kirchner modelled a monumental figure of a lion and a lioness in porcelain for Augustus the Strong’s Japanese Palace.¹ However, the pair in the present lot belong to a different tradition: the extensive production of smaller-scale porcelain sculptures to function sometimes as interior decoration, as part of the furnishings of the palaces of kings and courtiers, but more often as table decorations. During the reign of Augustus III (1733-1763), porcelain was to gradually replace silver and sugar sculpture on the dessert table and from 1735, the factory began to produce a wide range of smaller scale figures which were included in the ministerial services ordered by Count Sulkowski and his successor Count Brühl. The Hof-Conditorei (court pantry) was the department responsible for producing the edible and decorative elements of the dessert course at the king’s table. The first porcelain figures commissioned for the royal table were decorations for the three royal marriages of 1747; they appear in the Arbeitsberichte (work reports) in 1746 and were delivered to the court pantry between 1746 and 1748. They were also recorded in palace inventories conducted at different points in time, giving us an insight into the broad range and quantity of table sculptures held in the Hof-Conditorei across two decades.² Apart from figural sculptures, production included birds, game and domestic animals as well as exotic species, including lions, leopards, elephants, rhinoceroses, together with small vases, pedestals and temple elements. When arranged as part of the surtout de table these would have provided a dazzling display at the finale of the meal.³

More rarely, animal figures, particularly larger models such as those in the present lot, were sold by the enterprising marchand-merciers in Paris or by the Meissen factory itself. Porcelain was a highly fashionable, luxury item and these models were destined to become part of decorative schemes for grand interiors, placed on mantlepieces or furniture in the homes of Europe’s wealthy nobility. The marchand-mercier Jean Charles Huet visited the factory premises regularly in the 1730s and 1740s, and others apparently placed orders from afar, via watercolours and drawings variously inscribed with their names, among them Michel Joseph Lair and Lazare Duvaux. Duvaux’s Livre-Journal of 1748-1758 shows him selling various birds and animals, some mounted in gilt-bronze.

Many of Meissen’s animal and bird models appear to be derived from late 16th, 17th and early 18th century prints that were collected by the factory to serve as models for the sculptors and painters, some of which survive in the archives. Late 17th century anonymous engravings held by the factory in pattern books, often after Flemish printmakers such as Gerard van Groeningen, included sheets with lions, which probably served as inspiration for these models. These engravings were in turn probably derived from the hugely influential Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae, published 1573-77 by Antonio Lafreri.

A figure of a lion was modelled as a sugar-paste table decoration for the Anna-Fest held at Schloss Moritzburg in July 1738, a drawing for which exists in the archives at Dresden.⁴ In January 1741, Kändler modelled '1 Löwen von mittelmäßiger Größe, liegend mit offenen Rachen’ [1 lion of medium size with open jaws],⁵ probably the model he made for the King, as listed in his Taxa, 1740-1744 '1 Löwe, mittelmäßiger Größe, liegend mit offenen Rachen, vor Ihre Konigl. Maj.'  [1 lion, medium size, recumbent with open jaws, for his Royal Majesty]. In November 1748, he modelled another pair for Queen Maria Josepha (1699-1757),‘after Nature’, listed in his work records as follows: '2. Vor Ihro Majt. die Königin Einen großen Löwen Modelliret. Es ist selbiger liegend Zugleich prillend nach der Natur aufs beste Vorgestellet' [2. For her Royal Majesty, the Queen, modelled a large lioness. It is similarly recumbent and splendidly represented after nature.] and '3. Eine Löwin Welche dar Zu gehörest Von Eben solcher größe Welche gleichsam prillend und ligend aufs beste nach der Natur Vorgestellet est.' [3. 1 lion belonging to the preceding, of comparable size, similarly recumbent and splendidly represented after nature.].

These two 1748 entries relate directly to the present models.⁶ A number of lions in different sizes are recorded in the various Conditorei inventories: twenty-one white and painted models in the Dresden Conditorei inventory (1733-48); three in the Dresden Conditorei inventory (1752), and twelve in the Warsaw Conditorei inventory (1750); Count Brühl’s inventory (1753), also included seventeen models.

A lion and lioness of the same type, in the porcelain collection, Dresden (inv. no. PE 5740), are illustrated by C. Albiker, Die Meissner Porzellantiere im 18. Jahrhundert, Berlin, 1959, nos 159 (lioness) and 160 (lion); a similar pair is at Waddesdon Manor, illustrated, R.J. Charleston, Meissen and European Porcelain, The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor, London, 1971, pp. 170-171, no. 59; and a similar model of a lion, bequeathed by John Jones, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (accession no. 835-1882), paired with a lioness seated on her haunches with one paw raised (accession no. 836-1882). Examples sold at auction include: A pair on gilt-bronze bases, Sotheby’s London, 2 March 1994, lot 104; another pair, Christie’s London, 7 October 1996, lot 452; and a gilt-bronze-mounted pair, Christie’s London, 21 November 2018, lot 67.

The present lion and lioness pair are recorded as being among a number of birds and animals which were lent by Sir Gawaine and Lady Baillie for an exhibition organised by John Asprey in collaboration with the Meissen factory in 1992.

¹ Examples of both models are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, object nos 1988.294.1 and 1988.294.2.

² The porcelains and other equipment belonging to the Dresden court pantry were inventoried at different points in time; the 1733 inventory has entries through to 1748 and the 1752 inventory has additions through to 1764. There were also inventories for other seats in the Saxon-Polish realm, namely Warsaw and the royal hunting palace of Hubertusburg. The inventories are in the Sächsisches Hauptstaatsarchiv Dresden, 10006 Oberhofmarschallamt. For an overview of the various inventories and full archival references for the inventories, see the article by Maureen Cassidy-Geiger, Meissen Porcelain Figures in the Royal Court Pantries in Dresden, Warsaw and Hubertusburg: A Crash Course in the Hof-Conditorei inventories taken ahead of the Seven Years War, 2015, pp. 87-93.

³ For a detailed discussion of Meissen’s extensive production of smaller scale animals and birds see Maureen Cassidy-Geiger’s introductory essay to the Sotheby’s London sale of the Sir Gawaine and Lady Baillie Collection (1 May 2013) : ‘‘An Jagd-Stücken, unterschiedenen Thieren, Feder Viehe, Hunden und Katzen’: A Context for the Meissen Porcelain Animals and Birds in the Sir Gawaine and Lady Baillie Collection’.

⁴ Sächsisches Staatsarchiv, Hauptstaatsarchiv Dresden, 10006, Oberhofmarschallamt, N, I, 23A, fol. 314.

⁵ Die Arbeitsberichte des Meissener Porzellanmodelleurs Johann Joachim Kaendler, 1706-1775, Leipzig, 2002, p. 85.

⁶ Ibid., p. 125.