Porzellan Manufaktur Nymphenburg’s repertoire comprises well in excess of 700 animal figures, including two dozen elephants. To be selected as one of the “Big Five” is therefore a special honour. Among the outstanding heads is this elephant by August Göhring, dating from 1936. Its trunk is raised majestically, as though greeting its family members far away in Namibia’s Etosha National Park. A small, hand-painted porcelain plaque bearing the inscription “Mokuti, 5th September 1989” makes reference to its fictitious provenance.