Figure
ca. 1765 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
The earliest porcelain figures were made for the dessert course of grand dinners and replaced the sugar paste and wax figures made since medieval times for royal feasts. Originally intended as expressions of dynastic power and to celebrate political allegiances, allegorical themes had been introduced into these table settings by the 16th century. By the 18th century many were entirely decorative. Meissen in Germany was the first factory to make porcelain figures for the dessert. It set the sculptural conventions followed by porcelain factories elsewhere.
In the 1760s, at the Chelsea, Bow and Derby factories, porcelain figures acquired a leafy bower or ‘bocage’ and moved from the table to the mantelpiece where they have remained. This figure, one of a ‘Pair of Moors’, was produced at Derby around 1770-75. It depicts a black man wearing a loose turban and long robe with floral design gathered with a belt across the hips. He carries a scimitar, or curved blade, in his belt and holds a quiver of arrows. These objects show an orientalised fantasy of African enslaved peoples who were exploited through the production of sugar, a product of the transatlantic slave. Here they are transformed into ornamental commodities and luxury products of costly porcelain which aestheticizes the exploitation of Black people during this time.
In the 1760s, at the Chelsea, Bow and Derby factories, porcelain figures acquired a leafy bower or ‘bocage’ and moved from the table to the mantelpiece where they have remained. This figure, one of a ‘Pair of Moors’, was produced at Derby around 1770-75. It depicts a black man wearing a loose turban and long robe with floral design gathered with a belt across the hips. He carries a scimitar, or curved blade, in his belt and holds a quiver of arrows. These objects show an orientalised fantasy of African enslaved peoples who were exploited through the production of sugar, a product of the transatlantic slave. Here they are transformed into ornamental commodities and luxury products of costly porcelain which aestheticizes the exploitation of Black people during this time.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Soft-paste porcelain, painted in enamels and gilded |
Brief description | Figure in soft-paste porcelain painted in enamels and gilded of a black man, Derby Porcelain Factory, Derby, ca. 1765. |
Physical description | Figure in soft-paste porcelain painted in enamels and gilded of a black man standing, and wearing an ankle-length robe, turban and slippers with turned-up toes. The figure also wears a scimitar in his belt and holds a quiver of arrows. Rococo scroll base with applied flowers. |
Dimensions |
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Credit line | Bequeathed by Herbert Allen |
Object history | One of a pair with C.193A-1935. |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | The earliest porcelain figures were made for the dessert course of grand dinners and replaced the sugar paste and wax figures made since medieval times for royal feasts. Originally intended as expressions of dynastic power and to celebrate political allegiances, allegorical themes had been introduced into these table settings by the 16th century. By the 18th century many were entirely decorative. Meissen in Germany was the first factory to make porcelain figures for the dessert. It set the sculptural conventions followed by porcelain factories elsewhere. In the 1760s, at the Chelsea, Bow and Derby factories, porcelain figures acquired a leafy bower or ‘bocage’ and moved from the table to the mantelpiece where they have remained. This figure, one of a ‘Pair of Moors’, was produced at Derby around 1770-75. It depicts a black man wearing a loose turban and long robe with floral design gathered with a belt across the hips. He carries a scimitar, or curved blade, in his belt and holds a quiver of arrows. These objects show an orientalised fantasy of African enslaved peoples who were exploited through the production of sugar, a product of the transatlantic slave. Here they are transformed into ornamental commodities and luxury products of costly porcelain which aestheticizes the exploitation of Black people during this time. |
Bibliographic reference | Twitchett, John. Derby Porcelain. London : Barrie & Jenkins, 1980. pl. 54.
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Collection | |
Accession number | C.193-1935 |
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Record created | April 27, 2006 |
Record URL |
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