A MEISSEN GROUP OF 'THE MOCKERY OF AGE'

This model is recorded in Kändler's Taxa of 1740-48 and variations exist without the figure of Harlequin holding feathers. The group may have been based on a combination of engravings, including an early 18th century engraving by Martin Engelbrecht after Molière's Le malade imaginaire (see the etching by Charles Jean Louis Courty, circa 1872 of the same scene, which is after a painting by Boucher on page....) and Engelbrecht's engraving Studying Language from 'Academia', published in Augsburg in 1725, see Meredith Chilton, Harlequin Unmasked, the Commedia dell'Arte and Porcelain Sculpture, Singapore, 2001, pp. 193, 195 & 301, figs. 312 & 313. A similar group was sold in these Rooms on 21 November 2005, lot 79.

Special Notice

These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.