A fine pair of Meissen monkey groups with Louis XV ormolu mounts circa 1745-50

Estimate

30,000 - 40,000 GBP

bidding is closed

Description

both with crossed swords mark in underglaze-blue to edge of base, one with painter's mark in purple
23cm., 9in. and 25.5cm., 10in. high overall

modelled by J.J. Kändler, each crouching on a rocky base encrusted with leaves and flowers, one depicting a young monkey by its mother, who holds yellow fruit gathered in an apron, the other with almond-shaped fruit gathered in an apron, their fur picked out in shades of brown, the ormolu bases superbly chiselled with rococo scrolls, flowers and foliage, each applied at the rear with an ormolu leafy branch set with coloured Vincennes flowers

Provenance

René Fribourg Collection, New York;
his sale in these Rooms, 25th June 1963, lot 10

Catalogue Note

Lazare Duvaux, marchand-bijoutier ordinaire du Roy, records the sale of many porcelain monkeys, including one on December 16th, 1751, to Madame la Princesse de Royan: 'Un singe de porcelaine de Saxe avec arbre et terrasse, 30 l.'

See C. Albiker, Die Meissner Porzellantiere im 18. Jahrhundert, 1935 ed., pl.XLVII, nos.208-11, for similar models.