Cupid at the Altar of Love
ca. 1765
Medium
Soft-paste porcelain
Dimensions
3 1/4 × 1 1/4 in. (8.3 × 3.2 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Porcelain
Culture
British, Chelsea
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Irwin Untermyer, 1964
Accession Number
64.101.570a, b
Tags
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the European Sculpture and Decorative Arts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, *Cupid at the Altar Love* is a delicate soft-paste porcelain figurine by the Chelsea Porcelainufactory around 1765. Standing just 3 1/4 inches tall, this enchanting piece captures the mischievous god of love perched at a miniature altar, embodying the playful Rococo spirit so popular in 18th-century Britain. Chelsea, one of England's pioneering porcelain factories founded in 1743, in such whimsical mythological figures, drawing inspiration from French Sèvres and German Meissen wares to appeal to affluent c...
About the Artist
Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory · 1744–1784
**Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory** The Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory, Britain's pioneering porcelain enterprise, was founded around 1743 in Chelsea, London, by two Huguenot silversmiths: Nicholas Sprimont from Liège and Charles Gouyn. Sprimont, trained in Paris as a goldsmith before immigrating to England, brought his expertise in luxury metalwork to the venture, while Gouyn handled early sales th...