ART 198 - HISTORY OF WORLD CERAMICS

Kändler not only modeled figures and centerpieces, but also designed and modeled extensive dinnerware services. The most famous of Kändler's dinnerware services was the 2,200 piece service commissioned by the factory director, Count Henrich von Brühl, for his personal use. Each piece was overglazed with von Brühl's family coat of arms (at upper right) and the surfaces of the plates, bowl, tureens, etc., are each exquisitely carved with images of swans or other birds. This plate, from the service, with its courting swans, shows just a trace of Kakiemon influence. Note in addition to the courting birds, the flowers in the Kakiemon palette, and the extreme amount of 'negative space.' Other commissioned services were done for many of the crowned families of European royalty. In time, entire rooms and palaces would be ornamented with porcelain tile and pottery from Meissen.

Plate from the 'Swan Service,' Meissen Porcelain, modeled by Johann Kändler, Saxony, Germany, 1735 CE