Saxon Soldier c. 1755

Editor: Here we have a porcelain figurine, "Saxon Soldier," by Johann Joachim Kändler. It strikes me as wonderfully precise and elegant, almost like a porcelain doll. What stories do you think this little soldier could tell? Curator: Ah, he whispers of courtly life, of powdered wigs and the endless game of European power. Kändler, he was a master of capturing the zeitgeist. Do you see how the light catches the folds of his coat? Editor: I do, it's beautifully rendered. Does this say something about how porcelain was viewed? Curator: Absolutely! Porcelain wasn't just decorative; it was a statement. Imagine this soldier on a mantle, a symbol of wealth, taste and the fashionable obsession with military prowess. He's tiny, but he shouts. Editor: So, he's a miniature monument, then? I never thought of porcelain that way. Curator: Exactly! Art in unexpected places, speaking volumes in small packages.