Royal Splendour 

Home

Foreword

Exhibition

   1 - 7
   8 - 14

Bibliography

Contact Us

Back to Gallery

back  

An Extremely Fine Pair of Meissen Hares, both animals beautifully modelled by J.J. Kaendler and naturalistically coloured with every detail included, the Doe seated on her haunches looking to one side, the Buck with ears alert supported by his back legs as he raises himself to look at the viewer, both seated on rectangular bases applied with colourful flowers and leaves.

Circa 1750.

Height of the Doe: 6 ins. (15.2 cms.)

Height of the Buck: 61⁄2 ins. (16.5 cms.)

Marks: crossed swords marks in underglaze blue to the underside of the bases.

Provenance: Heinz Weck Collection, sale Fischer, Heilbronn , no. 44.

On the 1st October 1753 ten Hares were listed in the inventory of Count Bruhls Konditorei. A similar pair of Hares sold Christies, 7th October 1996, lot 456. See also Rainer Ruckert, Meissener Porzellan ( Munich 1966), no. 1176. Also there is a pair from the James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor. Kaendler has caught the moment when the Buck, always on the guard, has beaten the ground with his front legs and risen up to view the ‘oncomer’, i.e. the viewer. The Doe, who feels the vibrations, stops grazing the grass and looks up also. In this way Kaendler has captured an interaction between the animals and the human. The symbolism attached to the hare is age old, for they are sacred to the Celtic goddess of the dawn, Eostre, and are symbols of fertility and therefore the oncoming of spring. They teach us groundedness and humility, to listen to our instincts and to be quick-thinking and to move swiftly through our fears.