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Figure
Willems, Joseph, born 1710 - died 1766 - Enlarge image
Figure
- Place of origin:
Chelsea, England (made)
- Date:
ca. 1760-1769 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Willems, Joseph, born 1710 - died 1766 (modeller)
Chelsea Porcelain factory (makers) - Materials and Techniques:
Soft-paste porcelain painted with enamels and gilded
- Museum number:
C.33-1973
- Gallery location:
Ceramics Study Galleries, Britain & Europe, room 139, case C, shelf 3
Unlike many Continental factories, the Chelsea porcelain factory was never backed by aristocratic patronage. Nevertheless, it had great ambitions. It used a rich glassy soft-paste body to make copies of contemporary Meissen figures. The Flemish modeller Joseph Willems produced a successful range of original models. They included these 'masqueraders', who are based on the masked revellers to be seen at the London pleasure gardens of Vauxhall and Ranelagh.



