A RARE PAIR OF MEISSEN PORCELAIN ORMOLU-MOUNTED INDIAN RING-NECKED PARAKEETS THE PORCELAIN CIRCA 1741, THE ORMOLU 1745-49

modelled by Johann Joachim Kändler, one eating a lump of sugar, and each modelled perched on the stump of a cherry tree applied with fruit, various insects and flowering vines, mounted on an associated an ormolu scroll and rockwork base, the ormolu with 'C' couronne poinçon marks.

Baron Maximillian von Goldschmidt-Rothschild, Frankfurt-am-Main
Rosenberg and Stiebel, New York (acquired from the deceased estate of the above)
Baroness Renée de Becker-Remy, New York
Rosenberg and Stiebel, New York
Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, New York (acquired from the above in the late 1950s)
Sotheby Parke Bernet, Inc. New York, Property of a New York Private Collector, May 7, 1983, lot 1, illustrated

Carl Christian Dauterman, The Wrightsman Collection, Volume IV, pp. 44-47, nos. 16A and B

Please note: the porcelain has not been examined beneath the mounts, which are associated to the figures. The bird with the lump of sugar: the bird has been off through the upper part of the stump and restored back; its tail has been off and restored back; two of the uppermost leaves have been off and restored back; the branch of the stump beneath the bird's tail is restored; and there is a fine firing crack running the length of the stump at the front, which was overpainted at the factory in brown enamel. The other bird: one of the leaves is a made-up restoration; several other leaves have been broken off and reaffixed; minor restoration to the stem of one of the cherries.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Kändler's work records list his working on models of these parakeets in June of 1741: "Vor Ihro Excellenz die Frau Gräfin Von Moschinska einen Indianischen Vogel in Ziemlicher Größe in dero Logis nach dem Leben in Thon poussiret, und solche gestalt vorgestellet wie er auf einem Kirsch Ast sietzet und ein Stücklein Zucker aus der Pfote frißt" ("For her Excellency the Countess Moschinska an Indian bird of suitable size, modelled  from life in clay at her residence, and presented sitting on a cherry bough, eating a little lump of sugar clasped in his claw").

Similar pairs are illustrated by Carl Albiker, Die Meissen Porzellantiere, (1935 edition), pl. XXVI, no. 89, and by Carl Christian Dauterman, The Wrightsman Collection, Volume IV, p. 49, no. 17A, B, subsequently sold at Sotheby Parke Bernet Monaco S. A., Monte Carlo, on May 26, 1980, lot 408.

Examples of the parakeet with the lump of sugar are illustrated by Carl Albiker, op. cit., (1959 edition), no. 101; by Karl Berling, Meissen China, An Illustrated History, Table 4, no. 2; and by Yvonne Hackebroch, Meissen and Other Continental Porcelain, Faïence and Enamel in the Irwin Untermyer Collection, pl. 8, fig. 7. An example of the other model is illustrated in the Catalogue of the Collection of Frau Emma Budge, sold by Paul Graupe, Berlin, on September 29, 1937, pl. 121, lot 770. Further examples of both models are illustrated by Gerhard Röbbig, ed., Kabinettstücke, Die Meissener Porzellanvögel von Johann Joachim Kändler 1706-1775, pp. 126-29, nos. 19 and 20, and p. 130, no. 21.