Pharmacy jar with cover
ca. 1745–50
Medium
Soft-paste porcelain
Dimensions
H. 6 in. (15.2 cm.)
Classification
Ceramics-Porcelain
Culture
French, Chantilly
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of R. Thornton Wilson, in memory of Florence Ellsworth Wilson, 1952
Accession Number
52.92a, b
Tags
Art Historical Context
This elegant pharmacy jar with cover, crafted at the Chantilly porcelain factory in France around 1745–50, exemplifies the refined luxury of mid-eighteenth-century European ceramics. Made of soft-paste porcelain—a material developed in Europe as an alternative to hard-paste Chinese porcelain before the latter’s secrets were fully mastered—the jar stands just six inches tall. Chantilly wares were prized for their luminous white bodies and delicate, colorful enamel decorations, often inspired by Japanese Kakiemon patterns. The “Fruit” motif noted in its record suggests lively painted clusters of...