Bunting

Art Historical Context

Created around 1760 at the Bow Porcelain Factory in London, this charming small-scale figure exemplifies the early success of British porcelain manufacturing. The factory, one of the first in England to produce soft-paste porcelain commercially, specialized in delicate tableware and ornamental figures that appealed to the growing middle and upper classes eager for affordable alternatives to imported Chinese wares. Measuring just over two inches, *Bunting* likely served as a decorative accent for a mantelpiece or cabinet, reflecting the period’s taste for naturalistic subjects. The figure’s soft-paste body allowed for fine modeling of feathers, leaves, and floral details, often enhanced with delicate enamel painting. Such bird models were popular during the Rococo era, when English factories drew inspiration from both nature and contemporary prints. As a gift to the Metropolitan Museum, this piece preserves a snapshot of mid-eighteenth-century British decorative arts and the technical ingenuity that helped establish England as a major porcelain center.

About the Artist

Bow Porcelain Factory · 1747–1776

The Bow Porcelain Factory, established around 1747 in East London near Bow and relocated by 1749 to "New Canton" east of the River Lea, emerged as one of England's pioneering soft-paste porcelain manufacturers, rivaling the Chelsea factory. Founded by merchant Edward Heylyn and Irish painter Thomas Frye, who secured key patents in 1744 and 1748–49 for using Cherokee kaolin and bone ash, the factor...