The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Figural Group: Musicians

c. 1737
manufacturer

Meissen Porcelain Factory

(German, est. c. 1710)
modeled by

Johann Joachim Kändler

(German, 1706–1768)
Germany, 18th century
porcelain
Overall: 20 x 29.2 x 16.7 cm (7 7/8 x 11 1/2 x 6 9/16 in.)
Gift of Rosenberg & Stiebel, Inc. 1952.2
Location: 216A French and German

Description

An elegantly dressed couple accompany one another in a duet while seated on a tall-backed settee in this German porcelain figurine. The woman is likely playing a lute, an early form of the guitar, while the gentleman joins in with a wooden flute. Their music-making reflects their courtship and intimacy—a typical symbolic gesture rendered in such figural ceramic sculptures.
  • (Rosenberg and Stiebel, Inc., New York).
  • Foote, Helen. "Vincennes and Meissen Porcelain." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 39, no. 6 (June 1952): 124-126.
     Mentioned: p. 125; Reproduced: p. 127 www.jstor.org
  • Themes and Variations: Musical Drawings and Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 25-May 17, 2015).
    Lutes, Lovers, and Lyres: Musical Imagery in the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 14-June 11, 1989).
  • {{cite web|title=Figural Group: Musicians|url=false|author=Meissen Porcelain Factory, Johann Joachim Kändler|year=c. 1737|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1952.2