Three-light candelabra (candélabre or girandole) (one of a pair) ca. 1750 Model for bittern attributed to Johann Joachim Kändler German Trained as a sculptor, Johann Joachim Kändler joined the porcelain manufactory in Meissen, near Dresden, as a modeler in 1731. A prolific and talented artist, Kändler supplied the workshops there with numerous models, ranging from small figural groups to table services and decorative wares. Among his most celebrated achievements were the animal figures he created for the Japanese Palace in Dresden at the behest of Augustus the Strong, elector of Saxony (1670-1733), which included many native European and exotic birds. These figures were based either on live specimens observed at the royal menagerie at Moritzburg or on stuffed ones preserved in the local natural-history collection, and they illustrate the contemporary fascination with the natural world. In March 1735, for the Japanese Palace, Kändler modeled his first bittern, an elusive long-necked bir