Putti

The putti by Franz Anton Bustelli were probably originally created to decorate the table in the "Stone Hall" at Schloss Nymphenburgⁱ. The hall's ceiling painting shows the nymph Flora surrounded by important gods as befit her standing, e.g. Mercury, Jupiter and Juno. Bustelli's children, clothed as Ovidian gods, may be regarded as allegorical references to them. Dressed only in loincloths, the children's playful almost careless handling of the insignias of power transforms the idea of divine omnipotence into a figurative representation full of lightness and humour.

When in 1767, Porzellan Manufaktur Nymphenburg was commissioned with the production of a series of "Children with Turkish Music", Bustelli's putti were adapted, which is why some today bear drums and the Turkish crescent instead of the symbols of power.

ⁱ Interview with Dr Alfred Ziffer, Bäuml Collection, 3 March 2008.

• Painted
• White