European Decorative Arts and Sculpture Billy GoatMade in
Meissen, Germany, Europe Probably modeled by Johann Joachim
Kändler, German, 1706 - 1775. Made by the Meissen porcelain
factory, Meissen, Germany, 1710 - present. 1989-22-2Bequest of
John T. Dorrance, Jr., 1989 LabelThis goat and its mate were
among the hundreds of life-size porcelain animals and birds
commissioned by Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony, for his
"Japanese" palace in Dresden, Germany. The figures were
produced-most of them between 1731 and 1735-by the porcelain
factory founded at Meissen under Augustus's sponsorship in 1710.
Meissen was the first factory in Europe to succeed in producing
true, or "hard-paste," porcelain. The numerous firing cracks
visible on these figures attest to the enormous technical
challenge they presented. Too fragile to withstand an additional
enamel firing, they were originally colored with oil paint that
has gradually washed off. * Works in the collection are moved
off view for many different reasons. Althou