Harlequin and Columbine

Modeler Johann Joachim Kändler (German, 1706 - 1775)

Manufacturer Meissen Porcelain Manufactory (German, founded in 1710)

Date1740-1743

MediumHard-paste porcelain with enamel and gilding

DimensionsOverall: 6 × 6 1/2 × 5 inches (15.24 × 16.51 × 12.7 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust

Object number34-128

On View

On view

Gallery Location

Collections

Architecture, Design and Decorative Arts

Terms

DescriptionColumbine, in yellow skirt painted with flowers and drapery, flirting with Harlequin, who holds a sausage in one hand.Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Luxury and Passion: Inventing French Porcelain, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, August 13 2022–August 12 2024, no cat.

Gallery Label

Inspired by a variety of contemporary cultural influences, including the theater and everyday life, the figures in this case represent the inventive capabilities of 18th-century porcelain production. The repertoire of porcelain forms expanded to include figures such as the Meissen Tailor, one of a series of craftsmen and artisans. The tailor is realistically rendered, equipped with a roll of cloth, pair of shears and yardstick. Kändler's Harlequin and Columbine represents characters from the Italian Commedia dell'arte, a type of improvised comic drama popular in Europe. Kändler's probable attendance at performances appears in his characteristically expressive facial features and the theatrical vitality of the engaging figures. Juno and Jupiter, with their attributes the peacock and eagle, reflect a renewed interest in classical mythology. These larger scale figures, made possible by a thicker porcelain composition, provided greater expanses on which to paint elaborate details such as their elegant robes.

Provenance

Edgar Vincent, 1st Viscount d'Abernon (1857-1941), Esher Place, Esher, Surrey, United Kingdom, by June 26, 1929;

Probably purchased at his sale, Old French Furniture, Objects of Art and Porcelain, the Property of Viscount d’Abernon, Christie, Manson and Woods, London, June 26, 1929, lot 29, by the dealer A. S. Drey, New York, 1929-1934 [1];

Purchased from A. S. Drey by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1934.

NOTES:

[1] In the catalogue for the June 26, 1929 sale, the description for lot 29 closely matches the Nelson-Atkins object: “A Group, of a lady and harlequin, on plinth encrusted with flowers – 6 ¼ in. high.” An annotated copy of the sale catalogue in the Getty Research Institute indicates Drey purchased this lot at the sale, and provenance provided by A. S. Drey at the time of the Nelson-Atkins purchase indicates the object was formerly in the collection of Lord d’Abernon. The matching description, the catalogue annotation and the provenance provided at time of purchase together make it likely the Nelson-Atkins object is the same as that purchased by Drey at Lord d’Abernon’s sale.

Published References

Old French Furniture, Objects of Art and Porcelain, the Property of Viscount d’Abernon (London: Christie, Manson and Woods, 1929), 5.

Deborah Emont Scott, ed., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection, 7th ed. (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2008), 95, (repro.).

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