Figure
ca. 1755 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
Sets and pairs of porcelain figures of men and women in Turkish dress were popular in mid-18th century Europe. The Chelsea porcelain factory also made matching Turkish table figures: these were entirely decorative and were set out during the dessert course of grand dinners. This suggests that this figure was also intended for the dessert, and that the shell was intended to contain dry sweetmeats. However, the Bow porcelain factory also made such figures, and theirs are described as 'Turk salts' on an invoice. This one probably represents a theatrical figure in Turkish dress, not a Turkish woman.
Design & Designing
The Meissen factory in Germany was the first to make porcelain figures of Turks. These were copied by the English porcelain factories and some were also made in Staffordshire salt-glazed stoneware. The Chelsea porcelain factory copied this figure from a Meissen one modelled by Johann Friedrich Eberlein (1695-1749) in 1746.
Trading
Figures in Turkish dress were included in London auctions of Chelsea porcelain held in 1755 and 1756. Several pairs of these figures were included in the sale of 1756. Some of these matched groups of theatrical figures in Turkish dress. The 1755 sale also included '2 small figures with scollop shells'.
Sets and pairs of porcelain figures of men and women in Turkish dress were popular in mid-18th century Europe. The Chelsea porcelain factory also made matching Turkish table figures: these were entirely decorative and were set out during the dessert course of grand dinners. This suggests that this figure was also intended for the dessert, and that the shell was intended to contain dry sweetmeats. However, the Bow porcelain factory also made such figures, and theirs are described as 'Turk salts' on an invoice. This one probably represents a theatrical figure in Turkish dress, not a Turkish woman.
Design & Designing
The Meissen factory in Germany was the first to make porcelain figures of Turks. These were copied by the English porcelain factories and some were also made in Staffordshire salt-glazed stoneware. The Chelsea porcelain factory copied this figure from a Meissen one modelled by Johann Friedrich Eberlein (1695-1749) in 1746.
Trading
Figures in Turkish dress were included in London auctions of Chelsea porcelain held in 1755 and 1756. Several pairs of these figures were included in the sale of 1756. Some of these matched groups of theatrical figures in Turkish dress. The 1755 sale also included '2 small figures with scollop shells'.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Glassy soft-paste porcelain, slip-cast and painted in enamels and gilded |
| Dimensions |
|
| Gallery label | British Galleries:
Table figurines became widespread in England in the 1750s and were mostly based on prototypes from Meissen in Saxony (now Germany). Horace Walpole wrote in 1753 that displays of sugar plums and other confectionery had 'long given way to harlequins, gondoliers, Turks, Chinese, and sheperdesses of Saxon china'. Many of the Turkish figures were copied from French prints showing 'exotic' peoples and their costumes.(27/03/2003) |
| Credit line | Bequeathed by Mr Arthur Hurst |
| Object history | Probably modelled by Joseph Willems (born in Brussels, 1715, died in Tournai, Belgium, 1766); copied from a figure made in 1746 at Meissen, Germany, after models by J.F. Eberlein Made at the Chelsea porcelain factory, London |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Object Type Sets and pairs of porcelain figures of men and women in Turkish dress were popular in mid-18th century Europe. The Chelsea porcelain factory also made matching Turkish table figures: these were entirely decorative and were set out during the dessert course of grand dinners. This suggests that this figure was also intended for the dessert, and that the shell was intended to contain dry sweetmeats. However, the Bow porcelain factory also made such figures, and theirs are described as 'Turk salts' on an invoice. This one probably represents a theatrical figure in Turkish dress, not a Turkish woman. Design & Designing The Meissen factory in Germany was the first to make porcelain figures of Turks. These were copied by the English porcelain factories and some were also made in Staffordshire salt-glazed stoneware. The Chelsea porcelain factory copied this figure from a Meissen one modelled by Johann Friedrich Eberlein (1695-1749) in 1746. Trading Figures in Turkish dress were included in London auctions of Chelsea porcelain held in 1755 and 1756. Several pairs of these figures were included in the sale of 1756. Some of these matched groups of theatrical figures in Turkish dress. The 1755 sale also included '2 small figures with scollop shells'. |
| Bibliographic reference | Young, Hilary. English Porcelain, 1745-95. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1999, p. XII. ISBN 1851772820. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | C.181-1940 |
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| Record created | December 2, 2002 |
| Record URL |
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