Covered vase (one of a pair)
ca. 1765
Medium
Soft-paste porcelain
Dimensions
Height (each): 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Porcelain
Culture
British, Worcester
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Irwin Untermyer, 1973
Accession Number
1974.28.136a, b
Art Historical Context
This elegant covered vase, one of a matching pair produced by the renowned Worcester factory around 1765, exemplifies height of British porcelain artistry in the mid-18th. Crafted from soft-paste porcelain—a, bone-china-like material that British makers perfected before true hard-paste formulas were widely adopted—these 10-inch (25.4 cm) vessels were luxury items for affluent households. Worcester, founded in 1751, rose as England's leading porcelain center, rivaling Meissen and Sèvres with its innovative techniques like underglaze blue transfer-printing and vibrant enamel overglaze decoration...
About the Artist
Worcester factory · 1751–2008
The Worcester porcelain factory, established in 1751 in Worcester, England, by physician Dr. John Wall and apothecary William Davis along with 14 partners, marked the birth of one of Britain's most enduring ceramic enterprises. Investing £4,500 at Warmstry House on the River Severn, the founders drew on contacts with the Bristol porcelain manufactory to develop a novel soft-paste porcelain using s...