19TH CENTURY, BLUE CROSSSED SWORDS MARK TO BACK OF BASE, GILT 9. MARK, INCISED 464, IMPRESSED 7521-

This group was first modelled by Kändler in 1740-41, and a description of a group in his Taxa may refer to this model.¹ It depicts a wealthy lady, disguised as a shepherdess, rejecting the advances of a well-dressed young man who is of limited means, which is symbolised by the out-turned empty pocket of his breeches. An 18th century version of this group is illustrated by Ulrich Pietsch and Claudia Banz (Ed.), Triumph of the Blue Swords, Zwinger Exhibition Catalogue, Leipzig, 2010, pp. 317-318, Cat. no. 351, and another from the Pauls-Eisenbeiss Collection, Basel, is illustrated by Ingelore Menzhausen and Jürgen Karpinski, In Porzellan verzaubert, Basel, 1993, pp. 150-151, where the authors note that Kändler took his inspiration from William Hogarth’s prints ‘before and after’ of 1736 (based upon his paintings of 1730-31).

1. ‘1. dergl. (Groupgen) aus 4 Figuren bestehend, da eine Schäfferin auf Rasen sizt, zu der sich ein sauber angekleideter Jüngling findet, der sie lieben will, die sich aber weigert, auf dem Jüngling ist Cupido, der ihn bey den Haaren hält und ihn mit seinem Bogen auf den Kopff prügelt, dabey ein Arleqin steht, und den Jüngling auslacht.’