Group thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 139, The Curtain Foundation Gallery

Group

1789 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Figure group of hard-paste porcelain, symbolic of oriental trade. Painted with enamels. Standing on a rock base, beside a tree stump, is a gentleman in a brown jacket, red-edged yellow waistcoat, black breeches, stockings and shoes. He is surrounded by three people from the Far East, a barrel and a bale of merchandise. To his right is a Chinese boy holding out a tray with a coffee pot, cups and a basin. A lady stands behind the boy wearing a blue-crowned jewelled turban with a red-striped band caught in at the waist, a fur-edged pink long cloak with trousers, and she holds out a cup. Behind stands a Turkish man with a black-crowned turban, fur-edged green long cloak, striped undergarment and pink sash and trousers. Between them is a dog and a Turkish sword. The base is composed of a heap of flat rocks coloured brown, green, yellow and grey.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Hard-paste porcelain painted with enamels
Brief description
Figure group of hard-paste porcelain, probably Le Nove porcelain factory, Nove, dated 1789.
Physical description
Figure group of hard-paste porcelain, symbolic of oriental trade. Painted with enamels. Standing on a rock base, beside a tree stump, is a gentleman in a brown jacket, red-edged yellow waistcoat, black breeches, stockings and shoes. He is surrounded by three people from the Far East, a barrel and a bale of merchandise. To his right is a Chinese boy holding out a tray with a coffee pot, cups and a basin. A lady stands behind the boy wearing a blue-crowned jewelled turban with a red-striped band caught in at the waist, a fur-edged pink long cloak with trousers, and she holds out a cup. Behind stands a Turkish man with a black-crowned turban, fur-edged green long cloak, striped undergarment and pink sash and trousers. Between them is a dog and a Turkish sword. The base is composed of a heap of flat rocks coloured brown, green, yellow and grey.
Dimensions
  • Height: 25.7cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • '1789' [unclear] (Incised on the bale)
  • 'Nove' [unclear] (Incised on the bale)
  • 'F AB Wenezia' (Inscribed in black on the barrel)
  • '4 uns and AB' (Below the bale)
  • 'Z ...' [indistinct] (On the side of the bale)
  • 'No 92' (On the side of the bale)
Gallery label
GROUP, SYMBOLICAL OF ORIENTAL TRADE Porcelain Marks: "1789 (?) and "Nove"(?) incised on the bales, "F AB Wenezia" inscribed in black on the barrel ITALY (PROBABLY LE NOVE); dated 1789 C.130-1931 (Label draft attributed to John V. G. Mallet, ca. 1995)(ca. 1995)
Subjects depicted
Collection
Accession number
C.130-1931

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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