large sculpture of a heron turning its head to the left and cleaning its feathers with its slightly open beak, next to it a reed-covered column animated by snails and frogs, porcelain, with polychrome painted decoration, height 72.5 cm, underglaze blue crossed swords mark, impressed mark with model number 76008 and year mark AR for 2009, (GO)

Literature:
Wittwer, Samuel: Die Galerie der Meißner Tiere. Die Menagerie August des Starken für das Japanische Palais, Munich 2004, pp. 199-202 and p. 338.

The large-scale animal sculptures are among the most spectacular pieces produced by the Meissen Porcelain Manufactory. The early examples are priceless rarities and these models are still produced by the manufactory in a small number of pieces or on individual order.
This figure of a heron goes back to an extensive group of animal sculptures designed for the famous ‘Japanisches Palais’ of Augustus the Strong. The inventory of the palace of 1733 mentions 296 large animals and 297 large birds. The idea of this sculpture program refers to the tradition of princely menageries, which were part of the basic equipment of a castle of any self-respecting ruler. Here, live exotic animals were kept and put on display, not only to amaze the public, but also to demonstrate the regent's power over the world.
After the Meissen manufactory had proven that it could match and even surpass Asian porcelain in quality, the crowning achievement of the ambition of Augustus the Strong and his manufactory was probably the production of these large-scale animal sculptures, as a menagerie for eternity, so to speak, made of Saxon porcelain.
The success of this ambitious artistic project depended not only on the designs of the model masters, but also, due to the sheer size of the animal figures, on the technical skills in shaping and firing the porcelain. This challenging project was first entrusted to the court sculptor Gottlieb Kirchner and soon to the most famous and influential modeller of the manufactory, Johann Joachim Kaendler.
The artistic quality of this almost life-size porcelain figure lies in the skilful visual guidance of the design, the technically perfect shaping and the exact naturalism down to the last detail. For example, wet feathers can be distinguished from dry feathers on the bird's side and tail.
This large sculpture of the heron is thus convincing in its precise rendition of a transitory moment of movement and is astonishing because it is one of Johann Joachim Kaendler's first works.