Candlestick (part of a service)
model introduced in 1739
Medium
Hard-paste porcelain
Dimensions
H. 9-7/16 in. (24.0 cm.)
Classification
Ceramics-Porcelain
Culture
German, Meissen
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of R. Thornton Wilson, in memory of Florence Ellsworth Wilson, 1950
Accession Number
50.211.234
Tags
Art Historical Context
This elegant candlestick, part of a porcelain service from the renowned Meissen Manufactory exemplifies the pinnacle of 18th-century European ceramic artistry. Introduced in 1739, it hails from the German manufactory—Europe's first to produce true hard-p porcelain in 1710under the patronage of Augustus the Strong. Standing at 9-7/16 inches tall, its delicate translucency and durability marked a revolutionary departure from softer European wares, rivaling prized Chinese imports and fueling a craze for luxury tableware among nobility. Adorned with playful putti (cherubic figures) and a prominen...
About the Artist
Meissen Manufactory · 1710–present
The Meissen Manufactory, established on June 6, 1710, by Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, marked the dawn of true hard-paste porcelain production in Europe. Nestled at Albrechtsburg Castle in Meissen near Dresden, the Royal Polish and Electoral Saxon Porcelain Manufactory arose from alchemical experiments begun in 1708 by physicist Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus and p...