A pair of Meissen porcelain figures of sparrow hawks (Sperber), circa 1740
Auction Closed
June 24, 04:51 PM GMT
Estimate
15,000 - 25,000 EUR
Lot Details
Description
modelled by J.J. Kändler, each perched on a tree-stump, the female with her beak buried in the body of a lark, the male disemboweling a vole, their plumage naturalistically painted in tones of brown, grey and black, crossed swords marks in underglaze-blue to rear of bases
(2)
Height 11 ⅜ in; 29 cm
Joigny Enchères, Paris, 9 October 2022, lot 57;
Acquired in the above sale.
The models were created by Kändler in 1734 and 1739; the Taxa for 1734 reads 'Ein Rittelweibgen oder Lerchen Geyer welches vorgestellet in Lebens Größe wie es eine Lerche frißt ruhet auf einem verzierten Postament.', [1 kestrel or lark vulture, depicted life-size, devouring a lark, resting on an ornate pedestal].
Similar examples of both models are illustrated by Carl Albiker, Die Meissener Porzellantiere im 18. Jahrhundert, Berlin, 1959, pls. 86 and 87, and listed p. 14. A pair of the same models was sold from the Collection of David and Peggy Rockefeller, Part I, Christie's, New York, on 9 May 2018, lot 204. Most recently a pair of the models was sold at Sotheby’s, London, 12 November 2024, lot 79.
Cranfield University used non-invasive X-ray fluorescence (XRF) for this lot to screen the green enamel for chromium, which was not detected, a result consistent with 18th century manufacture.