Figure
ca. 1749 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
This small sculpture of a greyhound with a dead hare matches one of a retrieving setter with a pair of partridges. The dogs were purely ornamental, and would probably have been displayed on a mantelpiece, in a glazed cabinet, or on another domestic furnishing. Their backs are comparatively uninteresting, so they were probably not intended to be seen from all sides. No other versions of precisely the same models are known. However, the V&A also owns a smaller version of the greyhound.
People
The dogs were probably modelled by Nicholas Sprimont (1716-1771), manager of the Chelsea porcelain factory. Sprimont is a rare instance in England of a porcelain entrepreneur with design skills. A visitor to England around 1750 commented that 'an able French artist' supplied 'or directs the models' of everything made at Chelsea (Sprimont wasn't actually French, but was from a French-speaking part of Flanders). According to his widow, Sprimont had 'by his superior skill and taste in the arts of drawing and modelling and painting instructed and perfected several apprentices, workmen and servants'. He was also a gifted designer of silver, in which craft he had worked before setting up the Chelsea factory.
This small sculpture of a greyhound with a dead hare matches one of a retrieving setter with a pair of partridges. The dogs were purely ornamental, and would probably have been displayed on a mantelpiece, in a glazed cabinet, or on another domestic furnishing. Their backs are comparatively uninteresting, so they were probably not intended to be seen from all sides. No other versions of precisely the same models are known. However, the V&A also owns a smaller version of the greyhound.
People
The dogs were probably modelled by Nicholas Sprimont (1716-1771), manager of the Chelsea porcelain factory. Sprimont is a rare instance in England of a porcelain entrepreneur with design skills. A visitor to England around 1750 commented that 'an able French artist' supplied 'or directs the models' of everything made at Chelsea (Sprimont wasn't actually French, but was from a French-speaking part of Flanders). According to his widow, Sprimont had 'by his superior skill and taste in the arts of drawing and modelling and painting instructed and perfected several apprentices, workmen and servants'. He was also a gifted designer of silver, in which craft he had worked before setting up the Chelsea factory.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Soft-paste porcelain |
| Brief description | Figure of a dog, soft-paste porcelain, possibly modelled by Nicholas Sprimont, made at the Chelsea porcelain factory, London, c. 1749 |
| Physical description | FIGURE of a retrieving hound |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Object history | Possibly modelled by Nicholas Sprimont (1716-1771), made at the Chelsea porcelain factory, London |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Object Type This small sculpture of a greyhound with a dead hare matches one of a retrieving setter with a pair of partridges. The dogs were purely ornamental, and would probably have been displayed on a mantelpiece, in a glazed cabinet, or on another domestic furnishing. Their backs are comparatively uninteresting, so they were probably not intended to be seen from all sides. No other versions of precisely the same models are known. However, the V&A also owns a smaller version of the greyhound. People The dogs were probably modelled by Nicholas Sprimont (1716-1771), manager of the Chelsea porcelain factory. Sprimont is a rare instance in England of a porcelain entrepreneur with design skills. A visitor to England around 1750 commented that 'an able French artist' supplied 'or directs the models' of everything made at Chelsea (Sprimont wasn't actually French, but was from a French-speaking part of Flanders). According to his widow, Sprimont had 'by his superior skill and taste in the arts of drawing and modelling and painting instructed and perfected several apprentices, workmen and servants'. He was also a gifted designer of silver, in which craft he had worked before setting up the Chelsea factory. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | C.246-1976 |
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| Record created | March 27, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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