TWO MEISSEN FIGURES OF SAXON SILVER MINERS

During the 18th century, mining was one of the most important industries in Saxony and a major source of revenue. In 1719, miners participated in the festivities which took place in Dresden to celebrate the marriage of Prince Frederick Augustus to the Princess Maria Josepha von Habsburg. The ceremonial costumes of the various ranks of Saxon miners were subsequently recorded in a set of drawings by H.C. Fehling which were engraved by Christoph Weigel and published in 1721. In circa 1750, Kändler and Reinicke modelled a set of eight figures for Meissen, seven of which were inspired by Weigel’s prints The triangle player was the eight figure.