user: By. Sam Webb. PUBLISHED:. 10:25 EST, 25 April 2013. |. UPDATED:. 04:21 EST, 1 May 2013. A Noah's Ark of 18th century porcelain creatures said to be the most significant in the world has emerged - and is tipped to sell for up to £2million. The magnificent menagerie features more than 140 ornate animals and birds, many of which come in matching pairs, made by famous German porcelain pioneers Meissen. The pieces were hand-crafted in the 1730s and 1740s by Johann Kandler, who at the time was court sculptor to Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. Regal: These £60,000 lions are part of a menagerie of porcelain animals sculpted in the 18th century. Intricate: Porcelain is notoriously hard to work with, which is why the pieces were so sought after at the time. These sparrowhawks are worth an estimated £20,000. Highlights include a 19-inch. snuff-sniffing porcelain monkey worth £400,000 and a 17-inch pair of. guinea fowl valued at £200,000, both commissioned in 1732 for the King. of Poland's Japanese Palace in Dresden, Germany. Other pristine pairs include parrots, bitterns, lions, cats and ducks - and all items bear the famous Meissen crossed swords logo. The rare artefacts are from the private collection of British aristocrats Sir Gawaine and Lady Baillie, amassed at their West Sussex home. Sir Gawaine, a racing driver in the 1950s and 1960s, inherited the beginnings of the collection from his Anglo-American heiress mother, Lady Baillie, who had started collecting Meissen ornaments at her home at Leeds Castle in Kent in the 1930s. Experts have described the Meissen collection as the most significant to ever appear at auction and expect it to sell for up to £2million. The collection was amassed by British aristocrats Sir Gawaine and Lady Baillie at their West Sussex home. Pictured are two £60,000 bitterns (left) and a porcelain monkey (right) is expected to sell for £400,000. Johann Kandler, the court sculptor to Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, crafted all the animals by hand, including these £200,000 guinea fowl. Alice Bleuzen, ceramics expert at. auctioneers Sotheby's, said: 'This is the most extensive collection of. Meissen animals and birds ever seen. 'Each item is of the highest quality and 95 per cent of them are 18th century originals rather than 19th century reproductions. 'Porcelain is not easy to work with but Johann Kandler was a master and this is why Meissen sculptures became famous, luxury products. 'The auction represents a wonderful opportunity for collectors. 'There is something here for everyone with items ranging from a miniature hare valued at £400 to the almost life-size monkey sculpture at £400,000. 'Never before have Meissen items of such rarity appeared at auction.' Craftsmanship: Up for auction is the biggest collection of Meissen animals ever. Pictured left are pied wagtails worth £20,000 and, right, two £40,000 parrots. Pedigree: Two cats worth £30,000. Some of the animals were commissioned in 1732 for the King of Poland's Japanese Palace in Dresden, Germany. Valuable: There are 140 ornate animals and birds in total. These wild boar could sell for £12,000. Since the early 13th century, Europe's ruling houses had been importing porcelain at extortianate prices from China. In the early 18th century a group of mining and smelting specialists began working to discover the method of how it was produced. The first white porcelain was produced in 1708 under the direction of Johann Friedrich Böttger. Europe’s first porcelain had been born. It was the dominant style of European porcelain among royals and nobility until around 1756. The techniques used in the manufacture of pieces were cloaked in secrecy and meant to be maintained by the group, but one member betrayed the others. According to Meissen's website, the arcanist Samuel Stöltzel attempted to use his knowledge to set up a rival to the company in Vienna in 1718. This attempted faking exercise rendered a system of 'marking' necessary to prove the authenticity of any given piece. Several means of identifying porcelain were devised in the next few years, although it was not until 1920 that an underglaze cobalt blue was perfected by Meissen. This ensured a forgery-proof system of marking was found. Johann Melchior Steinbrück, first inspector at the manufactory, proposed using a motif from the Electoral Saxon coat-of-arms as the official symbol of the company, in keeping with the monogram of the then Elector Prince of Saxony and King of Poland, Augustus the Strong. Its signature logo, the crossed swords, was introduced in 1720 to protect its production; the mark of the crossed swords is one of the oldest trademarks in existence. The 'crossed swords' are still painted on by hand today.

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assistant: Intricate porcelain sculptures of animals will be auctioned. They were hand-crafted by a German 18th century master of the art. It is the most complete collection of its kind.