Large Allegorical Group the Air by M. V. Acier for Meissen, Germany, 1860s

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Excellent meissen porcelain group of the 19th century: a depiction of a bearded old man, covered only by a cloth … Read more Excellent meissen porcelain group of the 19th century: a depiction of a bearded old man, covered only by a cloth and with angel’s wings, seated in the centre of a mountain of clouds; presumably chronos from greek mythology, representing the passage of life and reminding us that time flies, holding a long staff (usually with a sickle) in his hand, surrounded by winged putti, depicting activities involving air: to the right of the old man, a standing putto with a billowing cloth, embracing a peacock – the bird of paradise and symbol of heaven – and blowing into a tube to form a soap bubble; in the foreground, wind is being produced with the aid of a bellows; to the left of and behind chronos, two putti holding a garland of flowers and a littl bird. The group stands on an irregular oval plinth with piled-up clouds and a gold rim. Designer: michael victor acier (1736 versailles - 1799 dresden) trained as a sculptor in paris, he received a call to the porcelain factory in meissen in 1762: he created a large number of groups in the watteau style. In 1780 acier came to dresden as a royal saxon model master. Design of model d 82 in 1777. Manufactory: meissen germany dating: made ca. 1860 material: white porcelain, glossy finish, wooden staff technique: handmade and finest hand painting size: height: 22,5 cm / 8.85 inches (without scythe) width: 27,0 cm / 10.62 inches depth: 19,0 cm / 7.48 inches marks: blue meissen crossed sword mark of the 19th century / first quality model number d 82 / former's number 51 / painter's number 66 bibliography: thomas & sabine bergmann, meissen - figures, model numbers a 1 - z 99, erlangen, germany 2014, catalog number 256, on page 131. Condition: very good - restoration of the sickle rod - replaced with wood this piece has an attribution mark,
i am sure that it is completely authentic and take full responsibility for any authenticity
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