Plate
1741 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
The plate is from a set of 24 that were specially commissioned by Horace Walpole from a Venice glasshouse as a souvenir of his visit in 1741. The plates, each of which was painted with a different view of Venice, were almost certainly never used, but were intended for display. By 1774 they displayed in Walpole's China Room at his villa at Strawberry Hill (near Twickenham west of London).
People
Horace Walpole, the 4th Earl of Orford and the youngest son of Sir Robert Walpole, was a noted author, wit, antiquarian, publisher, builder and designer; he pioneered the 18th-century Gothic revival in England and formed a remarkable collection of works of art and curiosities, which he displayed at Strawberry Hill. John Chute and the Earl of Lincoln, two of his companions in Venice, also ordered sets of these plates. The views are copied from prints by Antonio Visentini, after paintings by Canaletto, and from etchings by Luca Carlevaris. Prior to their publication, Visentini's prints were probably obtained for this purpose by Joseph Smith, a merchant and banker living in Venice, where he was later a British Consul.
Materials & Manufacture
This type of white glass, which is made opaque with an arsenic compound, was probably made in imitation of porcelain.
The plate is from a set of 24 that were specially commissioned by Horace Walpole from a Venice glasshouse as a souvenir of his visit in 1741. The plates, each of which was painted with a different view of Venice, were almost certainly never used, but were intended for display. By 1774 they displayed in Walpole's China Room at his villa at Strawberry Hill (near Twickenham west of London).
People
Horace Walpole, the 4th Earl of Orford and the youngest son of Sir Robert Walpole, was a noted author, wit, antiquarian, publisher, builder and designer; he pioneered the 18th-century Gothic revival in England and formed a remarkable collection of works of art and curiosities, which he displayed at Strawberry Hill. John Chute and the Earl of Lincoln, two of his companions in Venice, also ordered sets of these plates. The views are copied from prints by Antonio Visentini, after paintings by Canaletto, and from etchings by Luca Carlevaris. Prior to their publication, Visentini's prints were probably obtained for this purpose by Joseph Smith, a merchant and banker living in Venice, where he was later a British Consul.
Materials & Manufacture
This type of white glass, which is made opaque with an arsenic compound, was probably made in imitation of porcelain.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Enamelled opaque white glass |
| Brief description | Plate, Italy (Venice), made by the Miotti Glasshouse, 1741-1741, 5272-1901 . |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Gallery label | From a set of 24 plates painted with Venetian views made for Horace Walpole in Venice in 1741. The view here of S. Simone Piccolo is after an etching by Antonio Visentini. |
| Credit line | Transferred from the Museum of Practical Geology, Jermyn Street |
| Object history | Probably made at the Miotti glasshouse, Venice, Italy |
| Summary | Object Type The plate is from a set of 24 that were specially commissioned by Horace Walpole from a Venice glasshouse as a souvenir of his visit in 1741. The plates, each of which was painted with a different view of Venice, were almost certainly never used, but were intended for display. By 1774 they displayed in Walpole's China Room at his villa at Strawberry Hill (near Twickenham west of London). People Horace Walpole, the 4th Earl of Orford and the youngest son of Sir Robert Walpole, was a noted author, wit, antiquarian, publisher, builder and designer; he pioneered the 18th-century Gothic revival in England and formed a remarkable collection of works of art and curiosities, which he displayed at Strawberry Hill. John Chute and the Earl of Lincoln, two of his companions in Venice, also ordered sets of these plates. The views are copied from prints by Antonio Visentini, after paintings by Canaletto, and from etchings by Luca Carlevaris. Prior to their publication, Visentini's prints were probably obtained for this purpose by Joseph Smith, a merchant and banker living in Venice, where he was later a British Consul. Materials & Manufacture This type of white glass, which is made opaque with an arsenic compound, was probably made in imitation of porcelain. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Other number | - Glass gallery number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 5272-1901 |
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| Record created | December 13, 1997 |
| Record URL |
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