25500
The type of porcelain: White, painted
Modeller: Johann Joachim Kaendler
Issue year: 1769
Height: 35 cm
Weight: 4700 g
Vendor code: 900384-73589-1

Venus in Seashell

25500
Vendor code: 900384-73589-1

The appointment of Johann Joachim Kaendler to the newly founded Meissen manufactory in June 1731 was a major coup for Augustus the Strong. As a student of Dresden's famed court sculptor and altar woodcarver Johann Benjamin Thomae, the pastor's son from Fischbach demonstrated exceptional talent from an early age. He flourished as a master modeller at MEISSEN, creating some of the manufactory's most important sculptures, table services, and decorative objects over a period of 44 years.

Kaendler was fascinated by water throughout his life, in particular in connection with Greek mythology. Without a doubt, the culmination of this development was his epochal "Swan Service" - the greatest masterpiece of Baroque table culture. Each of the more than 2,000 elements depicts a different variation of the leitmotif, the mythology of water, through its shape, design, or relief pattern. To this day, the table service is unparalleled both in scope and richness of detail.

The "Venus in Seashell" figurine, which was first produced in 1769, was most likely designed by Kaendler based on an old model from the period in which the "Swan Service" was created. It depicts Venus, the Ancient Roman goddess of love, with her son, Cupid, seated in a seashell that Kaendler designed in the Rococo style with decorative flourishes. The seashell is held aloft by three Tritons who are perched on a craggy pedestal, over which water cascades down, crashing onto the rocks below. The colourful decor brings out the sculptural details of the figurine, lending it a warmth and liveliness that is characteristic of the piece's period of inception. Delicate gold accents adorn the edges of the seashell and cushion tassels, catching the eye and allowing this unique masterpiece of Meissen's Rococo style to shine with a brilliant new lustre.

Venus in Seashell Art Salon Venus in Seashell
25500 Art Salon