Blue Parrot

Meissen, model attributed to Johann Joachim Kändler, painted porcelain

This parrot perches momentarily on a tree stump. It clutches a twig with cherries. The parrot is the same size as a real one, but ten times heavier. It is made entirely of porcelain. Porcelain is very hard fired clay and extremely difficult to make. It was even called ‘white gold.’ The maker deliberately didn’t colour the parrot all over. This way you can see the porcelain clearly.

Artwork typefigure
Object numberBK-17496
Dimensionswidth 22.5 cm x depth 28.0 cm, height 82.0 cm x width 51.0 cm x depth 32.5 cm, 16.6 kg, height 69.5 cm

Identification

Title(s)
- Blue Parrot
- Blue Macaw
Object type
Object number
BK-17496
Description
This parrot perches momentarily on a tree stump. It clutches a twig with cherries. The parrot is the same size as a real one, but ten times heavier. It is made entirely of porcelain. Porcelain is very hard fired clay and extremely difficult to make. It was even called ‘white gold.’ The maker deliberately didn’t colour the parrot all over. This way you can see the porcelain clearly.
Catalogue reference
G. Rosa, La Porcellana in Europa, Milan 1966, afb. 129.

Creation

Creation
- porcelain company: Meissener Porzellan Manufaktur, Meissen
- porseleinmodelleur: attributed to Johann Joachim Kändler, Meissen
- designer: Johann Gottlieb Kirchner, Meissen [rejected]
Dating
1731
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Material and technique

Material
Technique
Dimensions
- width 22.5 cm x depth 28.0 cm
- height 82.0 cm x width 51.0 cm x depth 32.5 cm
- 16.6 kg
- height 69.5 cm

This work is about

Subject

Acquisition and rights

Ownership
Copyright
Public domain
Provenance
…; collection Johanneum, Dresden{Von Falke 1936, p. 282 no. Po.97.} …; collection Dr Fritz Mannheimer (1890-1939), Amsterdam and Paris, 1936;{Von Falke 1936, p. 282, no. Po.97.} purchased from his estate, en bloc, by the Dienststelle Mühlmann, The Hague, for Adolf Hitler's Führermuseum, Linz, 1940;{Korthals Altes 1974, pp. 21-22.} war recuperation, SNK, 1945;{HNA, SNK Archive, 2.08.42, inv. no. 548.} on loan, with 1,702 other objects, from the DRVK to the museum, 1952;{Note RMA.} transferred to the museum, 1960
Remarks
Please note that this provenance was formulated with a special focus on provenance research for the years 1933-45 and could therefore be incomplete. There may be more (mostly earlier) provenance information known in the museum. In case this item has an uncertain or incomplete provenance for the years 1933-45, the Rijksmuseum welcomes information and assistance in the investigation and clarification of the provenance of all works during that era.

Documentation

G. Rosa, La Porcellana in Europa, Milan 1966, afb. 129.

Persistent URL

To refer to this object, please use the following persistent URL:
https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200379997