Centrepiece "Triumph of Neptune" by Meissen Seated in a shell chariot pulled by two expressively modelled, fully sculpted hippocampi is the bearded sea god Neptune with a yellowish-purple cloak and laurel-wreathed hair. Seated at the head of the triumphal chariot is a fish-tailed Triton child with a conch shell horn. Polychrome painting with gold staffage. Designed by Johann Joachim Kaendler. Gilt bronze mount with volute-shaped, partly open-worked frame and bracket-like supports for triumphal chariot and hippocampi. Unw. rest.; total h. 20 cm. L. 44 cm. This extremely rare depiction from mythology refers to the famous swan service created between 1739 and 1741 for the table of Count von Brühl at Pförten Palace, for which he commissioned J. J. Kaendler to develop new moulds. In addition to the swan service, splendid centrepieces and figurative table decorations were created. The expressively depicted hippocampi originate from a confectionery centrepiece. Kaendler created a similar Apollo group as a centrepiece on behalf of August III for the marriage of Princess Maria Joespha to Louis, Dauphin of France. Around the middle of the 18th century, Kaendler also created a series of at least four so-called chariots of the gods, which are reminiscent of this version of Neptune, among others. Cf. Berling, Meissen Porcelain in Pförten Palace, in "Die Kunstwelt", 1912/13, pp. 755ff.; fig. 7; Pietsch, Schwanenservice, fig. 35, p. 35; Herzog, Mythologische Kleinplastik, no. 135, plate 69; Adams, Meissen figures Kaendler period, p. 136; Andres-Acevedo, Die autonomen figürlichen Plastiken Kaendlers und seiner Werkstatt, vol. 2, pp. 226 and 305. Provenance: from a German private collection. A bronze mounted porcelain group of Neptune sitting in a shell-shaped carriage with two sea horses. Insignificantly restored. Meissen. 18th century.