Exclusive Collection Vase Four Elements Water

In 1741, Saxony's Elector Friedrich August II commissioned the master modeller Johann Joachim Kaendler to design four magnificent element vases, which were to herald a new European porcelain art. Personified in gods, illustrated by living creatures and artefacts, the natural forces of earth, water, air and fire appeared so human and at the same time superhuman, and the aristocracy took pleasure in the role of those who controlled the elements.

The flowing shapes of the figures and waves allude to the element of water. In the center of the surface, a sailing boat pulls around the fluted body of the vase, while a quadriga of seahorses emerges from the waves, pulling a shell chariot with the water god Neptune. A mythological siren and bundles of reeds as handles complete the maritime scene.