About This Artwork

Manufacturer: Meissen Porcelain Factory, founded 1710
Modeler: Johann J. Kandler, 1706-1775
Germany

Sugar Caster with Cover (one of a pair), 1737

Hard-paste porcelain, polychrome enamels, gilding
Height: 19.5 cm (7 11/16 in.)
Louise D. Smith Fund, Edward Byron Smith Charitable Fund, Robert Allerton Fund, Mrs. Edward I. Rothschild Fund, R. T. Crane, Jr. Fund, 1984.1228a-b

European Decorative Arts
Gallery 212

By the 17th century, many European nations were trading heavily in the Orient, importing such products as tea, chocolate, furniture, silk, and porcelain. The discovery in the 18th century of the secret method the Chinese used to make porcelain was one of the most important achievements of the royal Meissen porcelain factory near Dresden. The tureen from this centerpiece and stand with a pair of sugar casters, designed by Meissen's chief modeler, Johann Joachim Kändler, would have been filled with lemons. Very sculptural in quality, the ensemble is animated with Oriental figures, Buddhas, imaginary birds, antique masks, flowers, and insects.