Augustus of Prima Porta Statuette

Porcelain is a noble and the most refined type of ceramics. It is fashioned from a blend of various clay varieties, primarily composed of kaolin. The body is either coated with a transparent glaze or left unglazed, which is known as biscuit porcelain. The wares undergo at least two main stages of thermal treatment and are fired at exceptionally high temperatures. Fine ceramic objects are characterised by their white colour, resonance, strength, and translucency. Two fundamentally different decoration methods are employed in its production: relief modelling and painting.
Porcelain originated in China around the 6th–7th centuries, where the secret of its manufacture was closely guarded. Chinese porcelain items reached Europe during the Middle Ages and were valued more highly than gold, which later earned them the moniker "white gold". For centuries, European masters attempted to replicate this material, creating only fragile, soft imitations instead. The secret of the Chinese craftsmen was finally unlocked only at the beginning of the 18th century in Saxony.
The first manufacture in Europe to produce hard-paste porcelain was founded in 1710 by the Saxon Elector and King of Poland, Augustus II the Strong, near Dresden in the town of Meissen. Its establishment followed the development of kaolin clay mines and the invention of the porcelain paste recipe in 1709 by the alchemist Johann Friedrich Böttger. Throughout the 18th century, the Meissen manufacture experienced its most illustrious period of flourish, shaped by the work of such prominent masters as Johann Gregor Höroldt, Johann Gottlieb Kirchner, Johann Joachim Kändler, Michel Victor Acier, and others. This was an era of bold experimentation, technological refinement, and the creation of iconic models.
Apart from the world-renowned Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, numerous other porcelain factories operated throughout Germany. Chief among these was the Royal Porcelain Factory in Berlin (KPM). No less popular was the production of the enterprises in Dresden, Nymphenburg, Volkstedt, Ludwigsburg, Frankenthal, and Selb.
The plastic rendering of the piece represents a porcelain replica of the famous monumental masterpiece of Antique sculpture – the statue of the first Roman Emperor, Octavian Augustus (who ruled from 27 BC to AD 14). The original white marble statue, dating back to the early 1st century AD, was discovered in 1863 during archaeological excavations at the Villa of Livia, Augustus' final wife, in the Prima Porta district near Rome and is currently preserved in the Braccio Nuovo gallery of the Chiaramonti Museum in the Vatican.
The choice of biscuit – an unglazed, matte porcelain body – allowed the artisan to flawlessly recreate the tactile qualities and refined texture of the original marble. The Roman ruler is depicted in an idealised, heroic guise as a commander and orator addressing his legions. The figure's stance is based on the Classical canon of contrapposto, with the body's weight resting on the right leg while the left leg is bent and slightly extended backward. His right arm is raised in an authoritative oratorical gesture, while a heavy military cloak (paludamentum) is wrapped around his hips and draped over his left arm.
The Emperor wears a highly detailed ceremonial cuirass (breastplate) adorned with intricate low-relief mythological and allegorical propaganda scenes celebrating divine protection over the empire. Positioned by his right leg is a structural support featuring Cupid riding a dolphin, which serves as a direct dynastic reference to the divine lineage of the Julio-Claudian house, tracing their ancestry back to the goddess Venus, who emerged from the sea foam. The figurine is raised on a rectangular plinth. On the lower part of the piece's base, the incised model number "3272" is clearly preserved in the porcelain paste.

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery