Dancing girl (Columbine)
ca. 1770
Medium
Soft-paste porcelain
Dimensions
Height: 6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Porcelain
Culture
Italian, Florence
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Irwin Untermyer, 1973
Accession Number
1974.28.116
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate figurine, created around 1770 by thecia Porcelain Manufactory in, captures the lively spirit of Columbine, a beloved character from the Italian commedia dell’arte. Standing just 6½ inches tall, the soft-paste porcelain figure depicts a young girl mid-dance, her graceful pose frozen in time. Doccia, one of Italy’s leading porcelain producers in the eighteenth century, specialized in such small-scale sculptures that brought theatrical and everyday scenes into the homes of collectors. Soft-paste porcelain, the medium used here, allowed for fine modeling and a luminous surface that ...
About the Artist
Doccia Porcelain Manufactory · 1737–1896
The Doccia Porcelain Manufactory, founded in 1737 by Marquis Carlo Ginori near Florence, holds the distinction of being Italy's first hard-paste porcelain manufacturer and one of the few European porcelain enterprises to survive from the eighteenth century to the present day without interruption. Unlike most contemporary ventures — which depended on the patronage and protection of ruling courts — ...