Great Meissen Wobbly Pagoda.

A gray-haired, portly Chinese man sits with crossed legs, wearing a yellow garment adorned with Indian flowers, a gold-decorated lace collar, a gem-set belt, and lilac-colored slippers. His hands and head are movable, but his tongue remains still. The polychrome painting is embellished with gold detailing (later added). Either Johann Joachim Kaendler or a workshop; restored. Sword mark. Height: 32 cm. The so-called "Wackelpagoden" (wobbling pagodas) can be traced back to designs from 1762 when Frederick II of Prussia commissioned "10 pagodas with wobbling heads" (five female and five male) for the Chinese House in Sanssouci. See catalog of the Royal Saxon Porcelain Manufactory, 1904, page 27; Rückert, Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, No. 1027; Pietsch, Triumph, page 144. A large porcelain figure of a male pagoda nodder. Restored. Crossed swords mark. Meissen. Circa 1770.