Estimate

10.000 - 12.000

Session 1

26 October 2026

Description

After a model by Johann Joachim Kändler (1706–1775)

Naturalistically modelled and painted, depicting a seated female pug nursing her pup, wearing a purple collar with gilt bells

On an oval base applied with flowers and leaves in relief

Raised on a chased ormolu rocaille base

Germany, Meissen, circa 1745

(restorations)

20x19x16 cm

Additional Information

The present model was conceived in 1744 at the Meissen manufactory by Johann Joachim Kändler (1706–1775), with the collaboration of the sculptor Peter Reinicke (1711–1768). Its creation is documented in Kändler's work records, which in June of that year mention the execution of two models of pug dogs, describing in December the figure of a bitch accompanied by a suckling puppy.

Dogs of this breed enjoyed particular popularity in the European courts of the 18th century, and were also associated with the so-called Order of the Pug (Mopsorden), a society of masonic inspiration founded in the 1730s, in which the animal was adopted as a symbol of fidelity and friendship.

Examples of the same model are reproduced in Rainer Rückert, Meissener Porzellan 1710–1810, Munich, 1966, no. 1092, and in Claire Dumortier and Patrick Habets (eds.), Porcelain Pugs: A Passion, 2019, cat. 1.