Exclusive Collection Vase Four Elements Fire

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 untamed power of fire is shown here on the bas-relief by a forest fire from which animals are fleeing. The transition to the sculptural figure of the deer lends the scene a realistic drama: fire as a natural disaster. The bearded figure with bellows is reminiscent of the Greek god of fire, Hephaestus, while the angels with torches stand for the elementary significance of fire as a source of heat or light.