porcelain, of cylindrical form, the body with flaring opening, gilt inside rim, narrow and wide gilt edging, white laurel wreath border, the facing side decorated with a kithara player wearing a laurel wreath and holding his instrument in left hand, and a plectrum in the right hand, mounting the stage as a poet, flanked by a winged female genius of music, on the left Hebe with 2 phials in the left hand, in the foreground Zeus with laurel wreath and Hera with Stephane as a royal head-dress, a rod in the right hand, reverse side with large kithara outlined by wreath of stars, biscuit-porcelain on blue glazed ground, the bulging base of the body with burnished gilt ground, matt gilt moulded half-blossoms, rosettes and leafy branches, the white handles with leaf terminals heightened with gilt, white knop and white fluted base heightened with gilt, Height: 43,5 cm, 1 rim with restored hairline crack; Meissen, underglaze blue crossed swords, ca. 1860, model no. O 11, O 23, former no. 20, 20 (Ru)

Hebe, Greek goddess of youth, daughter of Zeus and Hera, cupbearer to the Olympian gods;

Lit.:
Keramos 231, 2016/1, p 25–78, Rebecca Klarner, “WEDGWOODARBEIT” Der Einfluss der JASPER WARE Josiah Wedgwood auf die deutsche Porzellanmanufakturen KPM and MEISSEN. p 36 ill. 3; Wedgwood& Bentley, Apotheose des Homer, 1779–1780, Jasper, Wedgwood Museum; p 37 ill. 4; p 38 ill. 5, also referred to as the "Pegasus Vase", 1786, Jasper, British Museum; p 42 "DIE APOTHEOSE DES HOMER": In 1778, the sculptor John Flaxman, (1755–1826) created the relief of the apotheoses of Homer for Wedgwood & Bentley. He was inspired by a print by d’Hancarvilles, who had publicised the antiquity collection of Sir William Hamilton, that shows the facing side of an Attic, red-figured crater vase from the 5th cent. BCE, though it does not show the crater itself. The latter is currently housed in the antiquity collection of British Museum in London. p 43, ill. 9, Königliche Porzellanmanufaktur Meissen, Reliefplatte mit Apotheose des Homer Motiv, 1780–1800, British Museum;
p 44, ill. 10, rooms at the manufactory, Meissen Albrechtsburg, a crater vase with same design, signature FA 225, ca. 1860; p 50, ill. 16, Peleus-painter, and circle of (attributed to), crater with red-figured painting, ca. 450–440 BCE, British Museum;
Homer (750? – 650? BCE), according to tradition, first epic poet of Western culture, who performed at the courts of the Ionic rulers. He is considered to be the author of the epic poems ILLIAD, ODYSSY, and TELEMACHIE.