Knife
ca. 1730–50
Medium
Soft-paste porcelain
Dimensions
Total L. 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm.)
Classification
Ceramics-Porcelain
Culture
French, possibly Saint-Cloud
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Hans Syz Collection, Gift of Stephan B. Syz and John D. Syz, 1995
Accession Number
1995.268.229
Art Historical Context
This exquisite miniature *Knife* from the Saint-Cloud factory dating to around 1730–50, exemplifies the ingenuity of early French porcelain production. Crafted from soft-paste porcelain—a delicate, tin-glazed material that European makers developed as a precursor to true hard-paste porcelain—this tiny object measures just 1 1/2 inches long. Likely the handle of a small eating or decorative utensil, it reflects the luxury of 18th-century decorative arts where porcelain was prized for its translucency and fine modeling. The Saint-Cloud factory, near Paris, was a pioneer in soft-paste techniques...
About the Artist
Saint-Cloud factory · 1693–1766
The Saint-Cloud porcelain factory, situated on the Seine in the town of Saint-Cloud near Paris, revolutionized European ceramics as the first to manufacture soft-paste porcelain commercially, beginning in 1693. Originally established around 1664-1666 as a faience workshop, it shifted to porcelain under Pierre Chicaneau, a potter whose experiments yielded a frit-based paste with a warm yellowish or...