Janus-headed bottle
ca. 1760
Medium
Soft-paste porcelain
Dimensions
Overall: 3 1/4 × 2 in. (8.3 × 5.1 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
64.101.633a, b
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delightful Janus-headed bottle, crafted by the Chelsea Porcelainufactory around 1760, exemplifies the exquisite soft-paste porcelain produced by one of Britain's pioneering ceramic factories. Established in the 1740s, Chelsea rivaled European centers like Meissen, creating luxurious decorative objects in the rococo style for affluent collectors. Soft-paste porcelain, a mixture fired at lower temperatures than true hard-paste, allowed for vibrant colors and intricate modeling—hallmarks of Chelsea's "gold anchor" period output. The bottle's whimsical design features opposing heads inspired...
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...