Saxony - Porcelain Musician Monkey - XXth Century

Musician monkey conductor from monkey band in Saxony porcelain - 20th century
mark : crowned Z in blue

Meissen produced the monkey orchestra for the first time around 1753. "Singeries" were extremely popular during the 18th century and Käendler was the first artist to design an orchestra of musical monkeys. This orchestra was one of Meissen's most famous creations and popular throughout Europe. Even Madame de Pompadour, the cultured mistress of King Louis XV of France, ordered a set on Christmas Eve 1753. These representations of monkeys engaged in human activities were popular from the end of the 17th to the 2nd third of the 18th century , at the same time as the vogue for chinoiseries. Some of the figures in the orchestra were designed by Käendler's talented assistant, Peter Reinicke. The monkeys were inspired by drawings and engravings by French painter Christophe Huet, some of which can still be found in the Meissen archives. The orchestra was so popular that it was reissued around 1765-1766 and then copied by many German manufacturers.