monkey orchestra

English

monkey orchestra (plural monkey orchestras)

A group of Meissen porcelain figures depicting monkeys playing musical instruments.
- 1877, R. M. Washburn (compiler), The People's Condensed Library - A Compendium of Universal Knowledge, Historical, Scientific, Mechanical, and Statistical, Comprising the Origin of Many Things Not Generally Known, page 360:
  Celebrated sets were the Monkey Orchestra and the Carnival of Venice, escorted by upwards of a hundred different and independent figurines, representing the various professions and trades ...