Plate
ca. 1745-50 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The dish is decorated with a scene copied from the engraving Pèlerin de l"Isle de Cythère, made in 1708 by Bernard Picart (1673-1733), a French engraver active in Holland.
In Greek mythology the Ionian island of Cythera was a sacred place devoted to the cult of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Visual representations of the myth of Cythera began to be circulated in France around 1700, usually showing groups of men and women embarking on boats or arriving at the island. Only two pictorial treatments, including Picart's, depict single couples. The theme also became popular in theatre performances of the period, presented at the Paris Opéra as ballets and at the popular theatres of the fairs (théâtre de la foire) as comedies. Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721), who pioneered the genre of arcadian representations of love and fête galantes, reproduced the motif in the painting L'Isle de Cythère of circa 1708-09, and in two other versions entitled The pèlerinage à Cythera of 1717 and in 1718-19
In Greek mythology the Ionian island of Cythera was a sacred place devoted to the cult of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Visual representations of the myth of Cythera began to be circulated in France around 1700, usually showing groups of men and women embarking on boats or arriving at the island. Only two pictorial treatments, including Picart's, depict single couples. The theme also became popular in theatre performances of the period, presented at the Paris Opéra as ballets and at the popular theatres of the fairs (théâtre de la foire) as comedies. Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721), who pioneered the genre of arcadian representations of love and fête galantes, reproduced the motif in the painting L'Isle de Cythère of circa 1708-09, and in two other versions entitled The pèlerinage à Cythera of 1717 and in 1718-19
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Porcelain painted in enamels and gilt |
| Brief description | Plate, porcelain decorated with the scene Pèlerin de l"Isle de Cythère, China, ca. 1745-50 |
| Physical description | Plate, with slightly canted rim; painted in the centre is a scene with a figure pouring from a bottle into a shell-shaped cup held out by a lady with a ribboned staff, perhaps a shepherdess, with a figure of Cupid among clouds in front carrying a torch, and in the background is a seascape |
| Dimensions |
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| Styles | |
| Credit line | Bequeathed by Basil Ionides |
| Historical context | After an engraving by Bernard Picart; Pèlerins de L'Isle de Cythère |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | The dish is decorated with a scene copied from the engraving Pèlerin de l"Isle de Cythère, made in 1708 by Bernard Picart (1673-1733), a French engraver active in Holland. In Greek mythology the Ionian island of Cythera was a sacred place devoted to the cult of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Visual representations of the myth of Cythera began to be circulated in France around 1700, usually showing groups of men and women embarking on boats or arriving at the island. Only two pictorial treatments, including Picart's, depict single couples. The theme also became popular in theatre performances of the period, presented at the Paris Opéra as ballets and at the popular theatres of the fairs (théâtre de la foire) as comedies. Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721), who pioneered the genre of arcadian representations of love and fête galantes, reproduced the motif in the painting L'Isle de Cythère of circa 1708-09, and in two other versions entitled The pèlerinage à Cythera of 1717 and in 1718-19 |
| Bibliographic reference | Kerr, Rose and Luisa E. Mengoni Chinese Export Ceramics London: V&A Publishing, 2011.
p.63, pl.79 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | C.78-1963 |
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| Record created | March 24, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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