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 Johann Kändler was one
of the earliest, and most successful, modelers employed by the Royal
Saxon Porcelain Manufactory in Meissen. He was hired in 1731 and
worked there until his death in 1775. Throughout this time, his
work reflected the artistic and cultural changes sweeping Europe, and
his career spanned three artistic movements--Baroque, Rococo and
Neo-Classicism. His earliest works were commissioned by Augustus
the Strong, and were composed mostly of large porcelain figurines of
animals and birds. Following the death of the King, however, the
successor Augustus III passed control of the
factory to Count Heinrich von Bruhl, who placed porcelain production on
a strictly commercial basis. At this point, Johann Kändler was
forced to produce practical china dinnerware pieces, as well as
figurines and groupings intended to serve as dinner table centerpieces.
Although he produced some impressive dinnerware pieces, he continued to
focus on figurine modeling, and through his lifetime produced around a
thousand such pieces. Many of them had lighthearted or satirical
themes. One of the most famous of his works is the "Monkey Band"
set, which many believe is a parody of the Dresden Court Orchestra.
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