Figure Group thumbnail 1
Figure Group thumbnail 2
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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 145

Figure Group

ca.1750-1755 (Made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Europeans created an imaginary picture of life in China and Japan which became a popular style in its own right as it combined light and pretty decorative motifs with exoticism. This figure group is an example of this type of 'chinoiseries', and was modelled by the skillful model makers at the Meissen factory after a print by the French artist François Boucher.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
hard-paste porcelain, moulded, painted in enamels and gilded
Brief description
Hard paste porcelain group of a Chinese woman and two boys, modelled by J.J.Kändler and his assistants after Boucher, made at the Meissen porcelain factory, Germany, ca. 1750.
Physical description
Hard paste porcelain group of a Chinese woman wearing a high-necked robe decorated with 'indianische blumen' visible below a long purple cloak, folded back to reveal its yellow lining and tied with a green sash, standing holding a large white kettle and a jug from which she pours tea into a tea bowl and saucer placed on a tray held by a small boy wearing a blue-flowered robe, purple leggings and yellow shoes, another boy in a green robe kneels at her feet holding a bowl of fruits including lemons and plums, both boys with shaved heads and pigtails, all set on an irregular shaped base applied with flowers and leaves.
Dimensions
  • Height: 15.5cm
Style
Marks and inscriptions
crossed swords mark (in underglaze blue on base)
Credit line
Edna and Norris Kingston Bequest
Object history
See also companion group C.6-1978
Subjects depicted
Summary
Europeans created an imaginary picture of life in China and Japan which became a popular style in its own right as it combined light and pretty decorative motifs with exoticism. This figure group is an example of this type of 'chinoiseries', and was modelled by the skillful model makers at the Meissen factory after a print by the French artist François Boucher.
Bibliographic references
  • Blaauwen, Abraham L. den. Meissen Porcelain in the Rijksmusuem, Amsterdam: Waanders Publishers for the Rijksmusuem, 2000, no. 332, p. 455.
  • Pauls-Eisenbeiss, Dr. Erika. German Porcelain of the 18th Century. London: Barrie and Jenkins, 1972. Catalogue of the Pauls-Eisenbeiss Collection, Riehen, Switzerland, Vol. I, pp 118-120
Collection
Accession number
C.7-1978

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Record createdFebruary 11, 2008
Record URL
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