A Royal Menagerie
Subtitle: Meissen Porcelain Animals
Publisher: Getty Trust Publications: J. Paul Getty Museum; Getty Publications; J. Paul Getty Museum
Published: July 16, 2001
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 48
ISBN-13: 9780892366446
Subjects: Animals depicted in art; Ceramics; Exhibition catalogues and specific collections; History of art & design styles: c 1600 to c 1800; c 1700 to c 1800; Exhibition Catalogs; Art & Art Instruction; Porcelain animals; Art; Europe; Germany; Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - Museum; Pottery & Ceramics; Art / Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions; Sculpture; Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General; Individual Artist; Dresden; Meissen porcelain
Description: "The extraordinary Meissen animals made for Augustus the Strong, who ruled simultaneously as elector of Saxony and king of Poland, were perhaps the most signicant commission for porcelain ever executed in Europe. The figures, which were nearly life-size, presented enormous difficulties in making and firing, and their mere completion was a tour de force.".

"Augustus the Strong (1670-1733) had long been a collector of Japanese and Chinese porcelain, and it was to house his collection that the Japanese Palace in Dresden was purchased. In 1729 Augustus enlarged the building to nearly double its original size in order to create a "porcelain palace." One gallery was to be entirely devoted to Meissen porcelain, including the exceptional animal figures that are the subject of this book and the exhibition it accompanies."--BOOK JACKET.