Temple of Venus ca. 1727-28 Meissen Manufactory German The form of this remarkable porcelain sculpture recalls that of a triumphal arch, though the center of this object is occupied by a niche flanked by Roman Ionic columns. Standing in the niche are the figures of Venus, who holds a flaming heart, and a cupid, who reaches toward her. The structures tall base extends on either side, showing the figure of Jupiter with his eagle to the left, and an empty space to the right, where the figure of Juno almost certainly would have stood but clearly has been broken off. Above the niche is a double entablature with sloping roofs at both ends, and a central depressed, undecorated area in which another figure presumably would have been placed.[1 The architectural quality of the structure has been emphasized by the decorative marbling of the base, the columns, the pilasters located behind the columns, and the sloping roofs at the top. Curiously, the decorative scheme also includes a series of re