Offered by AG Antiquités
Meissen "Monkey Orchestra" (Affenkapelle), comprising 21 figurines and a music stand. Bearing the blue crossed-swords mark and numbered 6001 to 6022. All in perfect condition, except for the double-bass-playing monkey (missing a tuning peg) and the singing monkey (restored hand, missing a finger); 20th century.
One of Meissen’s most amusing and original sets—designed by sculptor Johann Joachim Kaendler—this orchestra consists of twenty-one monkeys dressed in magnificent Rococo costumes, each singing or playing a different instrument. Created by Kaendler in 1753 and reworked in 1765 in collaboration with Peter Reinicke, the ensemble is believed to be a caricature of the Saxon court. Individuals could recognize themselves through specific details; the conductor—the monkey wearing the tallest wig and with his mouth open to reveal long white fangs—is thought to represent Prime Minister von Brühl. Illustrated in the Meissen catalogue (Bergmann).
