Meissen - Miniatur "Truthahn"

Porcelain, colorfully painted, a perched bird with wheel-shaped tail feathers on an irregular natural base, naturalistically painted with slight heightening in gold, the lightly glazed base with underglaze blue manufactory mark (crossed swords) and embossed number "7", h 6.6 cm, designed by Johann Joachim Kaendler (1706 - 1775) ~1740, Meissen 1740/50, the reverse with retouched glaze damage 4725 A rare miniature bird in naturalistic staffage with fine coloring and particularly elaborate drawing of the plumage, the figure belongs to a series of miniatures begun by Johann Joachim Kaendler in the 1730s, the turkey is closely related to a wheel-striking peacock of similar size and design, cf.Carl Albiker 1959, Die Meissner Porzellantiere im 18. Jahrhundert, no. 124 and Rainer Rückert 1966, Meissner Porzellan 1710 - 1810, nos. 1136 and 1137 (guinea fowl and cockerel of similar size).