The first modeled as Minerva and the triumphant Apollo over the slain serpent Python, his left foot atop an allegorical figure of Envy, modeled as a male nude eating his own heart; the second modeled as the three Fates atop a rocky base, attended by a genius passing wool to Clotho, winged Chronos closing the scissors in Atropos' hand
15¹⁄₄ in. (38.7 cm.) high, the Minerva and Apollo group

Please note this lot will be moved to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services (CFASS in Red Hook, Brooklyn) at 5pm on the last day of the sale. Lots may not be collected during the day of their move to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services. Please consult the Lot Collection Notice for collection information. This sheet is available from the Bidder Registration staff, Purchaser Payments or the Packing Desk and will be sent with your invoice.

Conditions of Sale
FAQs
This lot is offered by Christie's Inc

Brought to you by

Lot Essay

Both models were originally executed in the spring of 1774, as part of an order of 40 mythological and allegorical groups made for Catherine the Great. In his monthly work reports, Kändler describes modelling the 'Triumphant Apollo' group in March and April, before cutting it apart to be cast as a mold in May. It appears that he completed the 'Parcae' group more quickly, as he records both the processes of modeling and preparing for the mold-making only in the month of June.

Like many models in Catherine the Great's order, both groups convey messages in the Tsarina's glorification: Kändler's reports describe an attempt to model Apollo as one of die großen Seiger, or 'great victors,' triumphant over Python and the envy of others and attended by a genius representing Victory. His modeling of the 'Parcae' group encodes a plea for a long reign: as Chronos holds shut the scissors in Atropos' hand, so might Catherine's life never end.

For an example of the 'Parcae' group in the exhibition Meissen für die Zaren and in the holdings of the Staatliches Museum, Lomonossow, see U. Pietsch, Meissen für die Zaren, Munich, 2004, pp. 114-115, cat. no. 174. For both models, also compare Dr. K. Berling, Meissen China: An Illustrated History, New York, 1972, pp. 64 and 66, figs. 148-149. For the full descriptions of the groups in Kändler's monthly reports, see Ulrich Pietsch (ed.), Die Arbeitsberichte des Meissener Porzellanmodelleurs: Johann Joachim Kaendler, Leipzig, 2002, pp. 214-217.