A pair of gilt-bronze-mounted Meissen porcelain groups of piebald horses with their Moorish grooms, the porcelain circa 1750, the mounts Louis XVI, circa 1775

modelled by J.J. Käendler, the shaped bases cast with husks, guilloche and paterae and lapettes, one with the paper label of The Anthony de Rothschild Collection

Anthony de Rothschild Esq., Ascott, Wing, Buckinghamshire
By descent to Evelyn de Rothschild, Esq., sold Christie's, London, 3rd July 1986, lot 34 (£28,000).

The Porcelain: To the group with a groom wearing a yellow coat. There is restoration to the right front leg of the horse. There is an extended firing crack through the base, and there are typical minor chips and restoration to the applied flowers and leafs. To the group with a groom wearing a purple coat. There is restoration to both of the horse's ears. There is very minor restoration to applied flowers and leafs Both groups have some speckling to the glaze. The mounts: In overall good conserved condition. There are some very minor casting flaws to the gilt-bronze. There are two very small filled holes in the gilt-bronze bases of both.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

In June of 1753, the prominent Parisian marchand-mercier Lazare-Duvaux lists in his journal 'un cheval de porcelaine de Saxe avec une figure à côté', which seems likely to be making reference to the present model. In the same year a 'Mohr mit Pferd' is mentioned in the inventory of Count von Brühl, and also the group was illustrated in a painting by Aert Schouman (1710 -1792) of the Dutch banker Thomas Hope (1704-1779) and two other merchants studying a variety of works of art. 

Other examples of this model are illustrated by Ulrich Pietsch, Meißner Porzellanplastik von Gottlieb Kirchner und Johann Joachim Kaendler, 2006, p. 30, cat. no. 26. The author suggests that the group may have been inspired by the 1720 painting Mohr mit Pferd by Johann Adolp Pöppelmann, currently in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden, Inv. Nr. Mo 1812, or Johann Georg de Hamilton's painting of a white horse and a blackamoor, Inv. Nr. 2052. By the mid-1750s the figures were inspiring porcelain groups produced at the English factory, Longton Hall, examples of which are illustrated by Bernard Watney, Longton Hall Porcelain, 1975, figs. 63 a, c.