A Pair Of Meissen Ormolu-Mounted Horse And Groom Groups. Circa 1750, Ormolu 19th Century. Photo Sotheby's

modelled by J. J. Kändler, each raised on an oval base encrusted with colorful flowers and mounted on a Louis XVI-style ormolu stand. Estimate 20,000-30,000 USD

NOTE: Similar figural groups with the blackamoor are illustrated by Carl Albiker in Die Meissner Porzellantiere, figs. 228-231.

Two similar groups with the blackamoor are also illustrated by Ulrich Pietsch, Meißner Porzellanplastik von Gottlieb Kirchner und Johann Joachim Kaendler, p. 30, cat. no. 26, where the author suggests that Johann Adolp Pöppelmann's painting, Mohr mit Pferd (1720), or Johann Georg de Hamilton's representation of a white horse and a blackamoor (1709) may have served as inspirations for this model. The author also mentions that the Konditorei inventory of Count von Brühl from 1753 lists '2 Pferde mit 1 Mohr,' suggesting that the figures were possibly used as table decoration.

Sotheby's. Property from the Estate of Brooke Astor. New York | 24 sept. 2012 www.sothebys.com