The Foundling Vase thumbnail 1
The Foundling Vase thumbnail 2
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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
British Galleries, Room 53a

The Foundling Vase

Vase
1762-1763 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
The vase was made as one of a pair, although the two were separated soon after they were completed. They were purely decorative, intended solely for display, and they may have been made as showpieces to demonstrate the scope and quality that the Chelsea factory was capable of.

Ownership & Use
In 1763 a Dr George Garnier presented the vase to London's Foundling Hospital for abandoned children, which also housed Britain's first public art gallery. Its pair (now known as the Chesterfield Vase) remained unsold until 1770. The V&A's vase remained at the Hospital until 1869, when it was sold for £1,500 to the Earl of Dudley. The Earl had already bought its companion for 'upwards of £2,000' from the Earl of Chesterfield.

Design & Designing
The vase was inspired by Sévres porcelain vases of about 1760. However, with the British and French fighting on opposite sides during the Seven Years War (1756-1763), the conflict would have prevented the Chelsea factory from obtaining actual Sévres vases to copy. Features derived from Sévres include the elaboration of the Rococo scrollwork handles, the tooled gilding, the 'mazarine' blue ground and the richly-enamelled panels. The enamelled figure subject is copied from Le Berger Recompense, an engraving after François Boucher (1703-1770).


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Vase
  • Cover
TitleThe Foundling Vase (popular title)
Materials and techniques
Soft-paste porcelain, painted in underglaze blue enamels, with gilding
Brief description
The Foundling Vase, soft-paste porcelain, painted in enamel colours in reserves on a Mazarine blue ground, Chelsea porcelain factory, ca.1762-3
Physical description
The Foundling Vase, soft-paste porcelain, painted in enamel colours in reserves on a Mazarine blue ground, and gilt, 60 x 29 x 24 cm. Unmarked.
Dimensions
  • Height: 61cm
Width to be measured .
Gallery label
British Galleries: The ambitious vases of the Chelsea porcelain factory, made in the 1760s, with blue grounds and elaborate gilding, were inspired by those made at Sèvres, the royal French porcelain factory. The painter has copied the pastoral scene from a print by François Boucher (1703-1770) whose engravings were also used at Sèvres.(27/03/2003)
Object history
Presented in 1763 to the Foundling Hospital, London, which housed Britain's first public art gallery, by Dr George Garnier Made at the Chelsea porcelain factory, London
Summary
Object Type
The vase was made as one of a pair, although the two were separated soon after they were completed. They were purely decorative, intended solely for display, and they may have been made as showpieces to demonstrate the scope and quality that the Chelsea factory was capable of.

Ownership & Use
In 1763 a Dr George Garnier presented the vase to London's Foundling Hospital for abandoned children, which also housed Britain's first public art gallery. Its pair (now known as the Chesterfield Vase) remained unsold until 1770. The V&A's vase remained at the Hospital until 1869, when it was sold for £1,500 to the Earl of Dudley. The Earl had already bought its companion for 'upwards of £2,000' from the Earl of Chesterfield.

Design & Designing
The vase was inspired by Sévres porcelain vases of about 1760. However, with the British and French fighting on opposite sides during the Seven Years War (1756-1763), the conflict would have prevented the Chelsea factory from obtaining actual Sévres vases to copy. Features derived from Sévres include the elaboration of the Rococo scrollwork handles, the tooled gilding, the 'mazarine' blue ground and the richly-enamelled panels. The enamelled figure subject is copied from Le Berger Recompense, an engraving after François Boucher (1703-1770).
Associated object
Bibliographic references
  • Baker, Malcolm, and Brenda Richardson (eds.), A Grand Design: The Art of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London: V&A Publications, 1999.
  • Hunt, Tristram & Whitfield, Victoria. Art Treasures in Manchester: 150 years on. Manchester: Philip Wilson Publishers, 2007. 57p., ill ISBN 9780901673725
  • Adams, Elizabeth. Chelsea Porcelain, The British Museum Press, 2001, 2nd. edition. Illustrated fig. 11.25, 160p
Collection
Accession number
C.52&A-1964

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Record createdMarch 27, 2003
Record URL
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