Exceptional pair of snowball vases by Meissen Spherical body, merging into a narrow narrow neck. Recessed, domed lid with bird pommel. The wall with a dense ground of white snowball blossoms applied in relief and painted in purple and yellow, surrounded by leafy tendrils branching out in relief with scattered flower umbels, so-called snowball spheres and canaries perched on branches. Polychrome painting. Gold rim. Designed by Johann Joachim Kaendler. Unw. dam. / rest.; crossed swords mark. H. 48 cm. Snowball vases of this kind were coveted cabinet pieces and were placed on consoles and mantelpieces or between wall panels. When Kaendler first began to cover porcelain surfaces with sculptural flowers around 1740, this represented both an artistic and a technical masterpiece. Cf. Rückert, no. 676ff; Pietsch, no. 411; Keramos, 208, 2010, p. 38. An exceptional pair of porcelain "Schneeballen" vases with canaries. Insignificantly chipped/restored. Crossed swords mark. Meissen. 2nd half 19th cent.