Sebastian Kuhn
Department Director
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Lot 72
A Meissen figure of St. John Nepomuk, circa 1731
3 December 2020, 14:00 GMT
London, New Bond StreetSold for £56,500 inc. premium
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Nette Megens
Head of Department, Director
Sophie von der Goltz
Head of Sale
A Meissen figure of St. John Nepomuk, circa 1731
Modelled by Johann Gottlieb Kirchner, in two parts, the group kneeling on a cloud borne by four angels, on it five gilt relief stars (symbolising the word 'tacui' [I am silent]), the Saint wearing an ermine cloak trimmed in gold, the angels and saint coloured in flesh tones, their wings picked out in gilding, fitted on an ormolu metal base fitting onto the elaborate scrollwork base surmounted by another angel holding a biretta, the scrollwork elaborately detailed in relief, the strapwork picked out in gilding, the trefoil base with gilt scrollwork and stylised floral patterns in gold, 54 cm high, crossed swords mark to the base (some restoration) (2)
Footnotes
The martyr St. John Nepomuk, who was canonised in 1729, was drowned in the Vltava River in Prague in 1393 by order of the king of the Romans and of Bohemia. He was patron saint of Bohemia and greatly venerated in the Hapsburg lands and southern Germany. The Crown Princess of Saxony, the Habsburg princess Maria Josepha was particularly devoted to the Saint and the north-east chapel in the Hofkirche was later dedicated to him. Because of the manner of his death, he is regarded as the protector from floods and drowning, and bridges in Central Europe often bear his statue.
Ernst Zimmermann linked this model in 1929 to an archive reference that refers to Kirchner working on a figure of Nepomuk in Autumn 1731 'so nebst Postament 1 elle lang ist [along with the pedestal 1 elle long]. In October 1731, drawings for 'Altären' [altars] had been sent by Augustus the Strong to the Meissen manufactory as a context for Kirchner's model. Due to technical difficulties, he made at least five models, of which two examples of the figure were successfully fired in November 1731 and three were ready for firing in December (J.L. Sponsel, Kabinettstücke (1900), p. 52). Among the deliveries to the Dresden depot for Augustus III on 7 March 1733, there is: '1 Johannes nepomucenus-Figur mit beschlaganem Postamente und 1 Crucifix dabey' [1 figure of St. John Nepomuk with ornamental pedestal and 1 Crucifix] (quaoted by K. Berling, Festive Publication (1911), p. 13; E. Zimmermann, E. Kirchner (1929), pp. 14-15, 30). In February 1744, J.J. Kaendler copied Kirchner's figure for his group of Nepomuk on the bridge (R. Rückert, Meissener Porzellan (1966), no. 914).
Other examples of the Kirchner figure of St. John Nepumuk with the pedestal are in the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Frankfurt; the Museum of Decorative Arts (UPM) in Prague (published by U. Pietsch/C. Banz (eds.), Triumph der blauen Schwerter (2000), no. 385); the Gardiner Museum, Toronto (unpublished loan); and another was sold at Galerie Koller, Zürich, 28 March 2011, lot 1591. Examples of the figure without the pedestal are in the Kunstgewerbemuseum, Berlin (S. Bursche, Meissen (1980), no. 298; the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (inv. no. C.37-1961); and the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (A.L. den Blaauwen, Meissen Porcelain in the Rijksmuseum (2000), no. 311).