Seated lovers by Meissen A shepherd and shepherdess sitting on a tree stump, kissing and embracing each other, dressed in a white dress with a splendid, flower-patterned cloth and yellow knee breeches, white shirt and sea-green jacket. The lady tenderly caresses her cavalier's cheek while he clasps her waist. Above a pedestal covered with sculptural flowers and leaves, a pair of shepherds sitting on a tree stump, kissing and embracing each other, dressed in a white dress with a splendid, flower-patterned cloth and yellow knee breeches, white shirt and sea-green jacket respectively. The lady is tenderly stroking her cavalier's cheek while he embraces her waist. Polychrome painting with gold staffage. Designed by Johann Joachim Kaendler. Sword mark. H. 15 cm. Similar pieces from the series of crinoline groups are part of the Staatl. Kunstsammlungen Dresden, inv. no. PE 527 and the MET Museum, inv. no. 1982.60.299. In the 18th century, when love marriages were the exception, love groups of this kind became a symbol of erotic allegories of longing that were only represented in the private sphere. The model was a copperplate engraving after the painting "Tom Rakewell wasting his money" by the English painter William Hogarth. Cf. cat. Pietsch, Meissen Porcelain Sculpture, no. 10; Staatliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Meissen, vol. II, sheet 5, no. 571; Adams, Meissen figures, p. 48. Similar comparative pieces are in the Staatl. Kunstsammlungen Dresden, inv. no. PE 527, MET Museum, inv. no. 1982.60.299. A porcelain figure group of a loving couple modelled by J.J. Kaendler. Crossed swords mark. Meissen. Circa 1740.