This Meissen service is decorated with anthropomorphic animals including foxes, monkeys, cats and bears each taking part in activities such as hairdressing, music lessons and playing billiards. The painted scenes are possibly the work of Johann Georg Loehnig (1743-1806), a porcelain painter at Meissen who excelled in ‘animalier’ scenes. Only a few anthropomorphic tea services created at Meissen are still in existence. The subject matter would have been humorous to an 18th century audience, who would have recognised the reference to popular fables. The scenes bear a resemblance to the work of the French painter and decorator Christophe Huet (1700-1759), well known for his singerie, scenes depicting monkeys taking part in human activities.
