Figure thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Europe 1600-1815, Room 3

Figure

ca. 1750 (designed), middle of 18th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The great Meissen modeller J.J. Kaendler produced series of small figures representing street traders or artisans copying popular contemporary engravings showing ordinary working people. This lively and colourful figure of a spinstress or spinster, literally a woman who made her living spinning wool, is one of this type. She is not meant to show the harsh reality of working conditions of the time, but rather a prettified version to provide amusement and delight the wealthy members of the Saxon aristocracy.

It is recorded that figures of this type were sometimes placed in a group as a part of a decorative table setting. The tradition of placing figures on the table dates back to the medieval period, when they would actually have been made of sugar, marzipan or wax, not porcelain. It was the Meissen factory that first made table decorations in the more durable medium of porcelain in the 1730s. Porcelain figures made in series in the 1740s and 50s could, of course, also have been collected as delightful objets d'art in their own right, ones that illustrated the fashionable taste and prosperity of their owners.

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Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Hard-paste porcelain painted with enamels and gilded
Brief description
Figure in hard-paste porcelain painted with enamels and gilded of a spinstress, modelled by J.J. Kändler, ca. 1750, Meissen porcelain factory, Meissen, middle of 18th century
Physical description
Figure in hard-paste porcelain painted with enamels and gilded of a spinstress. She stands on a rococo scrollwork base and holds a spinning spindle in her left hand.
Dimensions
  • Height: 225mm
  • Width: 105mm
  • Depth: 95mm
Measured by Conservation.
Credit line
Given by B.W. Potts, in memory of his family
Subjects depicted
Summary
The great Meissen modeller J.J. Kaendler produced series of small figures representing street traders or artisans copying popular contemporary engravings showing ordinary working people. This lively and colourful figure of a spinstress or spinster, literally a woman who made her living spinning wool, is one of this type. She is not meant to show the harsh reality of working conditions of the time, but rather a prettified version to provide amusement and delight the wealthy members of the Saxon aristocracy.

It is recorded that figures of this type were sometimes placed in a group as a part of a decorative table setting. The tradition of placing figures on the table dates back to the medieval period, when they would actually have been made of sugar, marzipan or wax, not porcelain. It was the Meissen factory that first made table decorations in the more durable medium of porcelain in the 1730s. Porcelain figures made in series in the 1740s and 50s could, of course, also have been collected as delightful objets d'art in their own right, ones that illustrated the fashionable taste and prosperity of their owners.
Bibliographic references
  • Adams, Len and Yvonne. Meissen Portrait Figures, Barrie and Jenkins, London, 1987, p. 147, colour plate XLV 'Spinster'
  • Philippa Glanville and Hilary Young eds. Elegant Eating, Victoria and Albert Museum, 2002, pp. 92-93
Collection
Accession number
C.132-1993

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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