Allegory of the Four Continents (ZKW/2962, ZKW/2963, ZKW/2964, ZKW/2965) purchased for the Royal Castle’s collections in 1992. Porcelain figurines were a very popular decorative element in interior design and were also used to complement sets of tableware; they served as table decorations during banquets and were often a pleasant topic of conversation. One frequently used theme was the personification of the Four Continents which, as in this case, was often composed based on Cesare Ripa’s Iconology dating from the late 16th century. Europe is depicted in the form of a Queen seated on a white horse, Africa as a black woman sitting on a lion, America as an Indian woman sitting on a crocodile, while Asia is shown as a woman in rich Eastern costume sitting on a camel.